Face to Face
by BraveWolven
Summary: The Collector Base has been destroyed, never to threaten mankind again. The Reapers took offence at their puppets destruction and decided to take away Shepard's escape, forcing her into an abandoned part of the galaxy. Instead, Commander Shepard is thrust into meeting an entirely new race of aliens! Four of them in fact. How will this meeting change the Reaper war?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not claim Stellaris or Mass Effect to be mine. They are owned by their respective companies Paradox and Bioware. **

* * *

To say that the day had not gone over well for Shepard would be like telling the Krogan that the Genophage was no 'Big Deal." Both would have cost you your legs, arms and your skull by the end of that encounter. Needless to say that while events had not gone quite to plan, they were slowly improving.

"Joker! The Normandy better be ready to fly by the time we get there or I'm going to- Miranda, cover fire! Collectors inbound!"

Marginally.

Still, it could not be said that there were no few successes. No casualties among the strike force as of yet. Thank Sirta for medi-gel. Legion was brilliant in infiltrating the way through the Collector base. They even rescued the crew that had been kidnapped. The colonists, however, well, the less said the better. No one would be having good dreams for a while after this if they made it out through this.

"_No, not if, __**When**_," Shepard corrected herself, firing off another round into the skull of the nearest degenerate Collector. She was Jane Shepard, Hero of Elysium, and she was not leaving anyone behind on this hellhole of a station.

Her comm beeped, signalling that a message was inbound. "Shepard," came the hurried, concerned voice of Joker, pilot of the Normandy, "I've got the Normandy coming up on an opening just to the east from your position! EDI's sending you the coordinates now!"

The Commander's HUD lit up. "Got it! On our way! Miranda, Grunt, move now," she barked, tossing the remaining two firestorm grenades from her belt at the collectors behind her as the three ducked down a corridor towards where the Normandy was supposed to be. Shepard's spirits rose when she saw the shining if slightly banged up, steel of the Normandy comes into view. They rose even higher when she saw the portside airlock door open up and Joker of all people hurry out, assault rifle in hand and firing off at any of the collectors still chasing after them.

"Joker, you crazy son-of-a-gun, what are you doing," she called through the comms.

"Saving your asses, what else," he replied in that teasing tone of his. "Could you hurry it up though?! The recoil is a pain to deal with."

Shepard couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that. "You heard the man, go go go," she'd shout at the two, staying back a step behind them to ward off more attacks.

Grunt would make it to the ship first, his krogan biology giving him the extra boost he needed to hurry through the door, however much his blood was calling for him to stand and fight. The young Krogan warrior would give Joker an approving look as he rushed through the airlock. Miranda was mere seconds behind him, just barely making it across the threshold of the outer airlock door before falling debris would strike at the platform that stretched from the rocky outcrop to the Normandy. Both pieces of alien metal would shriek in protest, the one attached to the rock being ripped out before joining its brethren in falling into the abyss below.

"Shepard," both humans cried out in alarm and fear for their friend.

As if a small gap of doom would stop Shepard. She merely ran, ditching her pistol and rifle to the ground, putting all her effort into her legs and feet. With a shout of determination, she reached the edge of the rock-face and pushed, the cybernetics in her legs working overtime as she propelled herself into the air. Even then it looked as though it would be a close call as the Commander's hands hit the edge of the airlock. But it was with the heroic effort of Joker and Miranda grasping both Shepard's arms and pulling her in that saved her.

"Good job you two," she told them once they were all standing inside. She would have said more but the sudden fire of weapons at them from the collectors reminded her that they had no time, and all three dashed in, the doors closing behind them and the Normandy turning and flying free of the Collector base.

"Joker, get us out of here. I want us gone before this place lights up like a Christmas tree and us with it," Shepard would declare, hurrying down the CIC to the map, the parts of the crew that could manage to be at their posts after the whole ordeal dutifully working at them to increase all their odds of survival. Using the ship's speakers she shouted through them, "Everyone, strap in. This is going to to get rough!"

Under the masterful touch of Joker, along with EDI, the Normandy shot through the debris field, even as EDI's own voice counted down the seconds on the detonator that would blow the Collecter base to pieces.

"Yeah, I get it EDI, hold on," Joker would shout from his seat at the helm, dipping and diving the frigate around boulders of space rock and the derelict hulks of wrecked starships, all the while fighting against the buffeting solar winds as the ship raced towards the Omega-4 Relay. "It's gonna be tight!"

* * *

Behind the fleeing starship, the great mass of rock, metal and bizarre biology that made up the collector base began to explode outwardly in great gouts of red-orange flame. But in one of the many rooms yet to enter into a fiery maelstrom of death, a collecter worked tirelessly at the console of technology it didn't even know how to work, unaware of the carnage erupting around it.

"**You have failed**," came the intimidating voice of Harbinger, the mastermind of the collectors, its holographic body displayed above the terminal. "**We Will find another way! But you will not be around to watch our victory, Shepard**."

Below, the collector that the Reaper was possessing tapped away at the console, enacting a digital viral code that had never been used before. From the dying base flew a signal towards the nearest Reaper built object in the system. Task accomplished, it began to type mindlessly once more.

"**Releasing Control."**

And then all was fire and heat as the last of the collectors died out in a great, hot fireball.

* * *

"Joker, I've detected a large surge of data from between the collector base and the Omega-4 Relay just before the base's destruction," reported EDI dutifully to the pilot. It was a testament as to how much their friendship had grown that she would even report such a thing to Joker and not only to the commander. Having one's shackles destroyed really does help two people grow closer together.

The pilot in question was eyeing the quickly approaching relay with suspicion, even as he pushed the engines to the max to keep the ship ahead of the rapidly expanding blast wave. "Any idea what it was? Is it going to explode on us when we use it?"

"I cannot tell at this time, however-" EDI's voice cut off for a moment as something began to register among her sensors. Her processors worked overtime for a moment as she broke down the data, compiled it into a useful format, then examined and formed a hypothesis before narrowing it down to one hard fact. All in all, this took only a mere two seconds. "Commander, I've detected an anomaly from the Omega-4 Relay. It appears as though it is changing position. At this rate, I cannot say for certain whether it will take us back to the Omega Nebula or discharge us elsewhere."

Shepard, who had been making her way to the helm as this was happening, cursed from behind Joker's seat. "If it isn't one thing it's another. The Reaper's really don't want us surviving, do they," she groaned, even as her mind raced to solve this problem. "A firestorm closing in behind, a possible firestorm ahead. Definite death behind us, possible death in front of us…"

The Commander took a breath, her lips forming into a stern, thin line even as her brain echoed how much she hated being put between a rock and a hard place. "We risk it. For all that we know, it will dump us in empty space close enough that we can limp to a spaceport for repairs. But if we stay here we will only die. We take the Relay."

"Yes Commander," replied Joker, lining up towards the relay, EDI helping the Normandy get into position in the most efficient manner possible. "I really hope this works.." he grumbled.

The energy from the glowing red ball of power inside the spinning rings of the relay connected to the frigate as the Normandy entered the travel corridor created by the large megastructure. And then it activated. And the Normandy vanished into space as the realm of the collectors burned behind it.

* * *

To say that it had been a long, boring day would've been an understatement for the crew of the ACN Beselador. One would think that exploring a newly discovered star system would be cause for excitement and passion, especially for the scientifically minded. To ones like the crew of the Beselador however, it was not. Not when the system in question was nothing more than your average red giant star with one barren rock that could barely be called a planet in the middle of nowhere. But, star exploration was star exploration, and each system needed to mapped, each anomaly accounted for, each celestial object documented for the records back at the Bureau of Star Exploration. Who knows, this lump of rock and stardust might become an important trade stopover or military post in the future. The scientists and crew didn't know. They just study the bloody systems.

That said, there was one thing of interest in the system. A giant construct, bigger than even one of the Colossus-class sized ships of the military, made out of dark metal in the shape of a tuning fork of all things, hovering lifelessly at the edge of the system. These strange structures had been found in various star systems outside the homeworld, in stages of either activation or dormancy. Since they were incompatible with the technology of the Commonwealth and resisted all form of study other than theoretical research and debate, these Keys as they came to be known, were dismissed as little to no importance. Until one scientist made the link that these Key's could be part of a galactic wide roadway of sorts, albeit one much more limited than the hyperlane network.

That caught the attention of the Military, who understood a simple truth about roads. They work both ways. Even if the Commonwealth couldn't use them, that didn't mean that other space-faring races couldn't, or wouldn't use them. Which left a glaring hole in the defences that the admirals and generals of the Commonwealth couldn't abide by. So they came up with a plan to dispose of the space Keys. The first testing of the plan occurred in an abandoned system that contained one of these keys, a very ingenious idea as if anything went wrong as nothing important would be destroyed in the worst case scenario. They towed the Key off and pitched it into the system's sun. As nothing happened when the Key melted into the burning heat of a K-Class star, it was deemed a success. Secondary tests confirmed this plan as a viable solution. And so, it was deemed protocol that whenever during exploratory adventures came across a Key, they were to call it in for disposal.

Much to the chagrin of some of the scientific community, who wished to be able to study these strange structures and discern their secrets. One of these scientists was Chief Researcher Sarim den Pagor, the leader of the scientific crew aboard the ACN Beselador, who reluctantly reported the discovery to the military guard attached to their expedition. The Destroyer-Class Sendiron and the two Corvettes Dafor and Maldur made up Task Force Utaris, who were mostly there to serve as protection for the little armed science vessel, passed on the message back home, and resumed their patrol around the system while the scientists continued on with their charting the small planet.

The Chief Researcher sighed as he watched the automated scanner carefully take the ship and its scanners over its precise grid-like search pattern of the planetoid's surface. Taking a look around, he took in his fellow bookworms and explorers, all with various looks of boredom or tiredness on their varying faces. He'd need to ask for some shore leave after this exploratory mission was over. Sarim thought about his diverse crew, made up of four different races all under the same banner, trying to come up with a planet that would do well for a vacation for all of them.

Sarim was a twenty-two-year-old Avani, a race of furred, bipedal mammalians that had fox-like features whose home is the planet of vast prairies called Esorith, in the Taia system. The Avani are adept explorers with a natural curiosity of the world and by extension, space and galaxy around them. They are also natural farmers, with an innate connection to the land they settle on and a close-knit people, preferring their smaller towns and farms to larger cities for the most part. Avani do not waste and will re-use and recycle as much as they can in order to keep their planets clean. Avani are considered to be the largest member species of Commonwealth, from which it also takes its name. The Avani Commonwealth.

The second most populous race is the Talrani. These large reptilians come from the icy world of Jorba, the second planet of the Commonwealth. Talrani are naturally strong, much stronger than any other species in the Commonwealth, and are a physiologically resilient people who make up the bulk of the armed forces of the star nation. Their efficiency in governance and military cannot be matched by any out there. Talrani also have a natural aptitude with engineering and shipbuilding.

The third race of the commonwealth are the Hinu. Aquatic Molluscoids from the third planet of the Commonwealth, the atoll world of Bannu, the Hinu are the most scientifically and mercantile of the races, having natural skills towards both. Talented in their trades and with natural charisma, Hinu run the commercial side of things in the Commonwealth.

Also onboard among them were the AI race known simply as the Tobor, who were created as a joint project between the three organic races. A fully self-functioning sapient synthetic race, complete with unique personality matrixes and emotion simulators, they fill the middle ground and any holes that their organic counterparts can't cover. With full citizen rights, the Tobor are regarded highly in society, even if a few dissidents raise a fuss over giving machines such freedom.

All four races worked together in a system that had lasted for over a millennium here in this part of the galaxy. Longer still before that. Quietly growing, expanding, researching new and old lost technologies and discovering more and more about the galaxy they lived in.

Sarim's musings were brought to an abrupt halt when the alarms on board the Beselador, causing him and everyone else to stop what they were doing and snap to attention. All trace of lethargy was gone, instead replaced by a growing sense of unease.

"Ulfric," barked Sarim, turning to the console next to him, "What is going on? Status report!"

From a small pedestal just next to the console, a digital form took shape. Looking like a much smaller Avani coloured blue and wearing a lab-coat, the ship AI saluted Sarim. "Sir, Sensors indicate a large fluctuation of dark energy emanating from the System object labelled "KEY"

Sarim's and everyone else's blood ran cold at the information. Already hurried and concerned whispers filled the laboratory.

"Does the captain know," asked the scientist.

Ulfirc nodded. "Yes, sir. He has been informed. As has Task Force Utaris. They Are inbound to take up shielding positions." The AI hesitated for a second. "Sir, according to my calculations, this could only be one of few possibilities, chief of which are-"

"First Contact," growled Sarim, looking around the room. "Everyone, to the shelters just in case. I'm going to the bridge. Move!"

The group of researchers did as told and left in a hushed, if nervous crowd, whispering to one another. Meanwhile, Sarim left the laboratory via another doorway and turned down towards the bridge in a rush. He arrived to find the crew of the Beselador in a mild panic, the bridge's viewing port showing the incoming task force, as well as the ominously not-unactive Key, red glow emanating between its two rings and getting faster by the second.

Ulfric appeared on the pedestal in front of the captain's seat. The captain of the ACN Beselador was a 28-year-old Talrani named Batchu J'Khan. The reptilian looked very uneasy about this entire situation, and his eyes gave way to some relief upon seeing Sarim.

Ulfric spoke first. "First contact.. That's.. My processors want to say both terrifying and exciting. It's confusing. The first time in, well, ever! And for better or worse I'm part of it! My circuits are going to melt."

"At least one of us seems to be enjoying this," groused Batchu, crossing his arms in annoyance. "The task force is coming in fast and will form up. Whatever this thing is coming through, we'll at least give'm a bloody nose if they aren't friendly."

"Since the Arrival, all we've known is the four races. This will be the first time meeting a fresh face," Sarim replied in a calm voice that did not betray his own nerves.

"Energy level's rising. I'm sensing massive amounts of dark energy and spatial manipulation of matter.." reported the AI, looking at a digital version of a holo-tablet, even though it could 'see' just fine with its outward sensors. "I have no record of such an event. Whoever this race is, they can use the Keys to travel, something we've tried and failed to understand! The implications of this are amazing."

While the Shipboard AI had its little nerd meltdown, Sarim stared out at the Key with its rings spinning in space. It was true. Hostile or not, this race proved that the Keys are a form of travel. Decades of research vindicated. His dream could be realized.

A flash of light and the sight of space warping for a moment was all the warning they received before the Key discharged itself of all its energy and spat out something before their eyes.

"Its a ship," cried a shocked ensign from the lower bridge.

Indeed it was. About the size of a frigate, perhaps a bit smaller, it had the appearance of a silver fish with black markings on the side. Four 'fins' sprung out towards its back, two on each side. Its thrusters perhaps? Markings, writing of some kind was written on its side. Something to be studied later for sure. Sarim's eyes narrowed. Something about the ship seemed… off somehow.

"Sirs," Ulfric spoke up again. Did he look concerned? "Long-range scanners show the structural integrity of the alien vessel to be less than fifty percent. Hull damage is extensive, I can only run educated guesses on the interior of the vessel. It seems that our new arrivals are badly bloodied."

"But by what," the Captain rumbled.

"Or by who," Sarim added.

A predicament indeed. The last thing they needed to happen was for the Commonwealth to make First Contact with a new species only to get caught up in a war. Was it a religious, genocidal, ideological or a civil war? So many possibilities. What was this species like? What was their governmental structure? Was there even more species out there?

Sarim shook his head. They needed to act decisively now.

"Open up a line with the task force."

"Yes sir," chirped the AI. It was a moment before he finished with, "You're connected, sir."

The Avani nodded. "Captains of Task Force Utaris. This is Chief Scientist Sarim calling in. As I am in charge of this expedition I hereby order you to stand down. Do not open fire on the Alien Vessel unless it is proven hostile. The Ship appears damaged. Prepare for a possible recovery mission in case of emergency." He then hung up.

"Order's received and enacted sir. The task force is standing down," Ulfric said. "I've dug around in the archive and have found the Commonwealth's first contact protocol." He pulled up the image of a thick book and blew the 'dust' off of it. "Shall I prep it for use?"

"Good job Ulfric. Do so quickly," said the scientist. Turning to Batchu he smiled. "Ready to make history my friend?"

The Talrani gave an impassioned shrug. "I'd rather let someone else deal with the amount of paperwork this is all going to cause. I hate paperwork."

Sarim winced internally. Paperwork was indeed a hell of its own. He could already visualize the mountain he'd have to go through after all this was done.

"Package prepped and ready sir," declared the ship's AI, "Shall I send it off?"

"In a moment Ulfric." Sarim gestured to the crew, and the shipboard messaging system opened. "People of the Beselador and task force Utaris. We stand on the edge of great discovery this very hour! For the first time in our people's history since the Arrival, we have come across fellow travellers of the stars! Who knows what secrets and knowledge they may hold. Today we meet our brethren of the stars and initiate first contact. Our names will go down in history for what we are about to do and I am proud to have you all here with me now for this momentous event. Remember that we all who are here today are representatives of our grand star nation! So be your best! Strength, prosperity and perseverance! These are the words of our nation. Let us show these new friends the meaning of them!"

He cut off the com then, listening to the smattering of applause from the bridge and preening under the attention, just a little of course. Turning towards the Captain, who merely gave the Avani a knowing smirk, he looked to Ulfric. "This is the science and exploration vessel ACN Beselador of the Avani Commonwealth Navy, escorted by the vessels of the Utaris Task Force. We are here to render aid and assistance to your damaged vessel and to any injured you have on board. The Commonwealth wishes to foster good relations and peace between our two nations. We are pleased to meet you."He paused. "There, send that Ulfric."

And Ulfric the AI did just so.

History in the making indeed.

* * *

Author's Note:

Well hello, all you Fans of space adventure, storytelling and space opera~ Bravewolven here to bring to you my very first work in fiction ever! I'm super nervous to have you all read this, and I'm fairly novice at doing big writing through this. I've had this idea cooking around in my head for months and I finally. _FINALLY!_ Worked up the effort to put to paper-er.. digital writing. Anyways, this story is going to be about, well, Stellaris crossover with Mass Effect. Or should it Mass Effect crossover with Stellaris since the story is taking place in the ME Galaxy.. hmm?

Regardless, I just love Both these franchises and wanted to write a little story about an undiscovered space race(s) joining into the larger ME Galaxy. These guys are gonna be strong and powerful, but not too powerful. No curb stomping the REAPERS as tempting as it is. Their tech is different, their ships are different and their society(s) are different from any in the current ME universe! Hopefully that isn't too reality breaking for you guys. Anyways, expect some fun from this. I do struggle with making characters unique and interesting, also I really suck with dialogue, so I really hope I can do the franchises' characters justice and write in a really engaging way. That said, I'd love constructive criticism and/or ideas or questions. Hopefully, I can answer them all soon.

Cheers all~


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hello to everyone who's reading this. Thanks again for taking a gander at this bunch of words I've been putting together. Thanks so much for the reviews and notes sent to me. I greatly appreciate your feedback! I'm still getting used to using the site, but I'll master it eventually. Well, without further ado, please enjoy Chapter 2~!**

* * *

Garrus Vakarian stood off to the side in the med-bay on board the Normandy, nursing his shoulder. He had been leading the second group holding the collectors at bay as Shepard, Grunt and Miranda went off to deal with the Reaper Embrio monstrosity, doing a fair job at it too. No one had died under his command, something that he was deeply grateful for. It was a needed boost to his self-esteem that had been pushed into the mud after the events on Omega. When Shepard had sent the signal to head back to the Normandy, he had led his group through the ever-encroaching Collectors when he had taken a shot that had snuck through his over-worked shields to the shoulder, hence why he was in the med-bay.

It wasn't anything serious, beyond leaving a nasty bruise and yet another scuff mark on his armour's collection, but Chakwas was ever the dutiful physician even despite her abduction and insisted on giving him the once over. The turian had agreed to the check-up but as the other crew members were in worse condition than him, he had hung back to allow the others to go ahead of him.

That's when the ship began to shake and sway, as the Normandy took off to first pick up Shepard, then race out to the relay to escape the bomb on the Collector base. The artificial-gravity generators on board were worked to their limit, barely compensating for the wild acrobatics Joker and EDI were putting the ship through in order to escape the graveyard and the explosion behind them. The turian was tempted to call Joker up to complain about the 'bump ride' but decided against it, knowing the human pilot needed all his concentration for the task at hand, namely their continued survival. It wasn't until the rocking of the ship stopped and smoothed out that the collective sigh of relief was let out from the entire crew around Garrus. They had made it to the relay. They were safe.

As those in the med-bay and those outside in the crew deck too injured to have assisted in the escape let loose ragged cheers and calls of joy, Garrus took the opportunity to slip away. Chakwas was too focused on her current patient to see him go, something that the turian would thank the spirits for. Everyone on board knew to fear Chakwas' wrath.

Making his way to the elevator behind the mess, he found Tali'Zorah already inside the lift, tapping away at her omni-tool and went in to stand beside her. As the door closed and the lift began the arduous rise to the CIC, there was silence between the two for a moment.

"We survived," Tali commented, her voice sounding tired behind her mask. Continuing to type on her device, the quarian continued, saying, "It's funny really, how many times we've dodged death today alone that is. Thank goodness Shepard listened when I said she should upgrade the core's shielding. Without it, we'd be dead in the water. Or just dead in general. As it is, we're just leaking a small amount of eezo. Nothing dangerous as of yet."

"Your shields were a good addition Tali. Just like my Thanix Cannon idea," Garrus said, feeling pretty good about that upgrade. "With it, the Normandy's guns tore through the collector ship with ease. If every ship could have those cannons, the reapers are going to get a hell of a welcome when they show up."

"You turians and your guns," the quarian's smile was evident despite it being hidden behind that visor of hers. Finally finishing whatever she was working on her omni-tool with, Tali put it on standby, the glowing holographic display fading out just as the doors of the elevator began to open.

"After you," Garrus said with a rakish turian grin. The turian could feel the rolling of Tali's eyes as she left the elevator, Garrus a step behind her.

Few crew-members were up in this section of the Normandy, those that were stood in small groups, talking excitedly to themselves. Those that noticed the two aliens passing gave them smiles before going back to their previous conversations.

"_Not too bad of people these humans. Despite being Cerberus,_" the turian thought as he and Tali approached the cockpit of the Normandy. He could see Joker in his seat, while Miranda Lawson and Shepard stood next to pilot. EDI's avatar could be seen on its projection screen. All the humans looked tense. The pessimist inside him commented, "_This doesn't bode well._"

"Shepard," he called out, watching as their red-headed leader turned her head to see their approach, her green-grey human eyes watching them. When they were close enough she gave them both a halfhearted smile.

"Anything wrong downstairs," she'd ask. Garrus would shake his head, but Tali spoke up.

"The core is slightly damaged and is leaking some fuel, nothing dangerous, but we need to get to a dry-dock and repair it, otherwise conditions will begin to deteriorate."

That caused Shepard to grimace and look outside. Garrus turned to follow her gaze, about to ask her what was wrong when his eyes caught sight of what she was looking at. "Um... I'm not an expert on stars," he began, "But I'm fairly certain Sahrabarik's star is not a red giant.."

Tali looked at the Turian like he'd suddenly grown a second head. "What are you.." Her gaze matched Garrus'. Her hand went to her mouthpiece as she gasped softly "Keelah."

A red fire glowed in front of them, a giant red hot mass of burning gasses swirling around in the cosmos, as it had for millions of years before being seen by the eyes of those onboard the Normandy. Those looking out at the star, however, did not see this celestial beauty as something to look out at in awe. Rather, they looked upon it as something of no small concern.

The digital voice of EDI filled the air. "The star in front of us is a class M red giant star. Sahrabarik's star is considered to be a class K star. I can only posit that this is not the Sahrabarik system."

The declaration from the AI hung in the air for a few moments, during which silence reigned.

"How is this possible? The relay should have taken us back to Sahrabarik," exclaimed Tali, who was wringing her hands as her nerves began to overtake her.

Miranda answered the quarian's question. "It was the Reapers. It had to be. They built the Relays. They must've done something to the Omega-4's sister relay in the galactic core, something that sent us here."

"But where is here," the confused voice of Joker asked.

Again there was silence. Garrus was looking at Shepard, trying to get a feeling for how the human was doing. Her expression looked… lost. The stress of the entire day, compounded by the prospect of being lost with a leaking engine and a damaged ship must've been wearing on her shoulders exponentially as each problem arose.

"_Shepard…_" he thought to himself, reaching out with his hand to put on her shoulder, a sign of solidarity common to both turians and humans. She'd glance up at him and give him a smile, one that gave off the '_Don't worry about it. I got this._' vibe. Garrus never liked it when Shepard took on the entire responsibility onto herself alone. Before he could say anything, however, the Commander stood up straight and turned to EDI's avatar.

"EDI, run a scan, maybe you can figure out where we are."

"Of course Shepard. Running star analysis no-" the AI flickered for the scantest of seconds. The AI's voice sounded a bit… concerned, as she spoke. "Commander, I am detecting four vessels to the port side of the Normandy. Scans indicated one vessel at approximately one-hundred fifty metres, two ships at approximately three and a half-hundred metres and the final one is approximately six-hundred metres long."

"What," shouted Joker, whirling on his chair back to his screens. The rapid movement of hands typing and button pressing followed. "The hell EDI! You're supposed to be the amazing supercomputer! How do you miss four ships that size!?"

"There was no Eezo signature coming from the spacecraft and the radiation from the star hampered my scanners. It was only when I expanded my search beyond the immediate vicinity of the vessel that I picked up on their presence."

This statement dumbfounded everyone. Miranda was the first to recover.

"No Eezo? That's impossible! Your scanners must be off EDI," claimed the field operative.

The AI replied "I have run the scan multiple times. There is indeed no Eezo emanating from anywhere on the vessels."

"Ships that big without eezo at all? Garrus is this some secret Hierarchy military stuff," Joker asked from his seat.

The turian in question shook his head. "No. Every starship in the galaxy uses Eezo. Everything in the Turian fleet is built using Element Zero."

"Also The ships do not match any turian ship design profiles on record."

Garrus blinked. "EDI, how do you know that," he asked cautiously.

The AI was silent.

"Look, maybe we can ask them for help? We are sitting ducks in the water here," Shepard spoke up, cutting off Garrus' want to interrogate the Normandy's AI. "It's worth the chance. Until we know where we are, we are stuck here, and these guys, whoever they are, are our best bet to getting back home safely."

"Yeah, but with our luck, this'll be batarians who'd rather enslave us than help us," groused Joker.

Everyone gave the pilot a glare. The human blinked.

"What?"

Miranda rolled her eyes with an annoyed huff, about to give Joker a lecture on maintaining high morale during crises by the look of it when EDI flickered again.

"Shepard, I'm receiving a large data stream from the unknown fleet. The smallest vessel to be specific. I'm parsing through the data now, but already I can ascertain that whoever is on board is very advanced. The code the packet came in is beyond even the Geth's capabilities to instantly decipher. At least, from what I've been able to tell with my interactions with Legion."

"Shepard-Commander."

And speak of the devil, as the human saying went. Legion, the Geth sniper platform that had joined them in their quest against the Reaper's goons the Collectors, walked up into the already crowded cockpit. Tali shied away from the machine slightly. Garrus could understand why. The Quarians and the Geth had been locked in a state of war for over three hundred years, the machine race having driven the quarians off their homeworld and out of what once was Quarian Space. While progress between the two had been leaps and bounds beyond what anyone would've expected in the time spent working on missions together, three hundred years of animosity does not just go away. Old habits die hard. Not that Legion would noticed Tali's movement, instead focusing onto Shepard.

"This platform has received a signal originating from unknown sources. It is.. Alien to us. We have no record of this data. We ask for clarification," the Geth asked, polite as always.

Shepard let out a long-suffering sigh. "We don't know Legion. We just received word of the signal itself. EDI's working on it as we speak."

"Understood. This platform shall offer assistance to deciphering this data to EDI."

"Appreciated Legion," chirped the AI.

"Well then," said Shepard, straightening out before stretching. "Briefing room, all of you. Joker, hold our position. I don't want to give whoever is out there a reason to blow us all to stardust." The Pilot nodded. "Good. Legion, stay here and help EDI. The rest of you, follow me."

"Never a dull day on this ship," chuckled the turian as he turned and followed the group away from the cockpit.

* * *

In the digital banks of the Normandy, EDI wrestled her processors against the wall of code that had come in. More like slammed in. It had come into her sensors so hard, that the effect could only be likened to the event of a organic shouting through a megaphone into someone's ear, that someone standing right next to the shouter. The cyberscape was stacked high as EDI tried to isolate and translate the digital coding into readable script for her to understand. For this task, it was a hard workout. So the added assistance of the Geth conscience Legion and all its one thousand one hundred eighty-three programs was a great boon the the ship AI.

"Do we have any progress?"

"No."

Somewhat. The problem was that the data was far too complex to work on as a whole, so they had to break the data into individual parts in order to process each part individually. This, however, led to occasional breaks in the code that would cause errors. So they had to continually rebuild and deconstruct data byte after data byte, and that was just to get the code to a stage that they could interpret and translate into workable data.

Imagine having a five-thousand-word puzzle. Dump the box out and, without sorting any of the pieces or looking at the box, try to assemble the puzzle. Blindfolded.

However, progress was being made. Bit by digital bit, the two AI's worked on their task until finally, something made sense.

"Normandy-EDI, we have deciphered enough data to uncover what appears to be a visual and audio file. The consensus was to bring it to your attention and watch it together, so as to better interpret the data."

"Understood Legion. Begin playing the file."

The data, which formed a glowing block of code before them, began to play a moving image, a video, as an alien voice began to speak in an unknown language. As it spoke, the video played out a series of images. Three Unique alien species were shown in succession, each one showed with their, presumably, planet of origin. What came next sent the processors of both AIs buzzing and whirring madly as they tried to process the existence of an entirely new race of AIs! AIs that apparently weren't feared, as they were shown living beside their organic counterparts, albeit with what looked like limited numbers according to what was being displayed by the video.

"We find such information… concerning," stated Legion. "Organic and synthetic races living side by side in a state of apparent equality. This goes against all known organic protocols and the Geth's own history. Consensus cannot be reached on this matter."

"It is different," acquiesced EDI, watching as the video continued on to show what could possibly be the capital of the alien species. It was large, situated on a low mountain and gleamed with steel and glass with many tall buildings. Then the camera cut out to show all the races standing beside one another with banners that had sigils, probably the symbols of their races, along with one larger one standing behind the four banners. Each of the species had their arms stretched out wide, in a surprisingly human-like welcoming gesture. Then the screen faded out, displaying the biggest banner's sigil, with alien writing underneath it. After a minute or so passed, the video began to play again, with EDI watching it more closely than before, pouring over each detail with the digital equivalent of a fine-toothed comb.

Legion also did the same. While examining the video data again the geth asked his AI counterpart, "Should we inform the commander about this?"

The Normandy's AI was silent for a moment before replying. "No. We need to work on the audio data. Without it, the video lacks vital information that would be of great value in understanding its meaning."

"Understood. We will continue to work on translating the audio data."

More time passed in the cyber realm. Eventually, as they parsed the data byte by byte, they were able to make a rough translation. With the limited speaking that did take place, they were unable to fully understand all the words given, but they did get enough to understand the gist of what was being said. Feeling confident enough to present their findings to Commander Shepard, EDI partially turned her attention to organizing their findings and readying them for presentation, leaving some of her processors to continue assisting Legion in working on making a better translation for them to use.

This entire process took no longer than the time for Shepard and Co. to arrive at the briefing room, damaged as it was, to discuss the current circumstances they faced.

* * *

Jacob Taylor, Kasumi Goto, Urdnot Grunt, Samara, Thane Krios and Zaeed Massani had joined them in the briefing room as Garrus and the others had filed in. Mordin Solus was busy helping Chakwas with the injured downstairs, while Jack had skulked off to her hideaway in engineering, which was alright as far as anyone else was concerned. They didn't need their resident temperamental psychotic biotic for this discussion.

"Alright. For those who aren't up to speed, we're lost, stranded, leaking eezo and have a fleet of unknowns sitting just outside on our doorstep," Shepard stated bluntly, a bit of exhaustion leaking into her voice as she spoke. Most of those present merely grimaced at the news, though some, such as Thane, Samara and Kasumi perked up at the mentioning of unknown aliens outside. "We've received a transmission from them, which EDI and Legion are working on as we speak. EDI?"

The avatar of the Normandy's ai popped up. "We have deciphered the data and have uncovered an audio and visual file so far." A screen popped up in place of EDI's avatar and began to play, showing the video that had been sent to them. "Legion and I have reached the conclusion that it is a first contact package of sorts. It gives minor details that described at least four unique space-faring races. The Avani are the first race mentioned, having an appearance interestingly similar to that of _Canidae Vulpes_, otherwise known as foxes from Earth. They are mammalian in nature, bipedal, walk upright and seem to come from a prairie-like world called Esorith." The AI pulled up an image of a red fox in comparison.

For Garrus, this was the first time he'd ever seen a fox creature from Earth. It was a very furry creature, covered in what appeared to be the same strand-like material that humans had on their heads or faces, except it covered their entire body. His eyes were drawn to the large fluffy tail the animal had and he wondered how exactly that fur would feel in his hands. Would it feel similar to Shepard's hair at all? Putting that question aside for the moment, he compared the image of the fox to the alien, the Avani as EDI put it. The two did look similar, their muzzle, ears and fur similar in shape and structure, but not exact. How strange that an entire alien race looked so similar to a wild animal from the Human homeworld.

EDI continued on as the picture changed to show a hulking, reptilian-looking alien. Its size seemed to rival the krogan in bulk, the horns present on it's skull and the sharp carnivorous teeth in its maw giving it a rather intimidating visage. "This is a Talrani. They are a warm-blooded reptilian-like race. At least we assume them to be warm-blooded due to living on an icy world called Jorba. They appear to have great strength compared to the other races."

"The third race is called the Hinu and they are aquatic in nature, coming from a tropical ocean world full of atolls and small islands called Bannu." The image showed an alien with smooth, moist looking skin, with strange fin-like appendages hanging from either side of its face. It somewhat reminded Garrus of the Hanar from their watery world Kahje.

"Three alien races all together eh," chuckled the turian, "This sounding familiar to anyone?"

Shepard quirked a small smile at the comment before focusing back onto the paused video screen. "You said there were four races EDI. What's the last one," he asked.

At this, the AI seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"EDI?"

"Apologies Shepard. The last race according to the content of the first contact package is a race of synthetic AIs known as Tobor. They are unlike the geth, in that each Tobor seems to be a fully fledge artificial intelligence separate from one another, not connected together in a hive mind network like the geth, though they can network with one another. While only a few seem to possess physical mechanical bodies, they are regarded as being equals to their organic counterparts and some even seem to be civic leaders."

This stunned everyone in the room. Garrus himself was struck dumb by this news. If the Council knew about this, they'd lose their collective minds. Tevos would ramble about in her unintelligible manner. Sparatus would of course instantly rattle his sabre and desire to take the fleets to put down this alien race under the turian boot. And Valern... well, Garrus wasn't too sure about what the salarian councillor would do. The idea of the councillors and their underlings on the Citadel running around like chickens with their heads cut off appealed greatly to the humour of the Turian's brain and he let out a small chuckle, quickly covering it up with a cough.

This seemed to restart everyone else in the room, who looked uneasily at one another. Tali looked a bit ill behind her mask. Garrus patted her shoulder, the quarian looking up towards Garrus with an expression of shock and fear evident to everyone around her despite no one being able to see her expression.

Shepard appeared to be deep in thought, mulling what she had been told around in her head. She glanced up at the rest of the group and took a breath. "AIs or not, these guys are going to be our only chance of getting everyone back home safely. We can handle this," she said, nodding as if to confirm the idea to herself, "EDI. What else do you have?"

"According to the package, all these species make up what is called the Avani Commonwealth. It is a unitary parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, much like the United Kingdom on Earth. The King, or High King as he's called, rules with the Prime Minister, and is viewed as being the protector of his people, a benevolent guardian against a hostile galaxy. Unfortunately, any other information is currently inaccessible as Legion and I have yet to work out some sections of data. There is, however, an audio message that was broadcasted alongside the Contact package."

"Go ahead EDI," said Shepard, knowing that the AI was waiting for permission.

The partially transmitted message was played, the speaker's voice reaching everyone's ears in the form of English, to which each alien's own translator's then put into their own language.

"_**This is the science and exploration vessel ACN Beselador of the Avani Commonwealth Navy, escorted by the vessels of the Utaris Task Force. We are here to render aid and assistance to your damaged vessel and to any injured you have on board. The Commonwealth wishes to foster good relations and peace between our two nations. We are pleased to meet you.**_"

It was quiet as each person in the room digested this declaration.

It was Jacob, the dark-skinned ex-Cerberus operative, who broke the silence first. "At least we know that these are friendly aliens. The last thing we needed was to run into someone worse than the Collectors."

"Can we trust them," asked Miranda, looking at the pictures of the Aliens displayed before the group. Now that was a question thought Garrus. Maybe it was the cynical part of his mind that had grown since his time on Omega, but he couldn't help but wonder about the alien's offer. What was their angle? No one was truly altruistic, not in this galaxy.

"We have no choice," said Shepard, her Commander persona coming into effect. She looked at each of the crew members. "Without help, without knowing where we are, we have little hope of making it back to known space." The others around the table nodded, resigned to the course of action that was no doubt coming. "EDI, prepare a response. Send it out on all frequencies. Make sure they hear it."

"Yes, Commander."

* * *

Sarim was idly tapping his fingers against the console in front of him, his species claws making a rather sinister 'tap-tap-tap' sound as they struck the metal below. He glanced around to the other crew of the Beselador, Avani, Talrani and Hinu alike demonstrating their respective species nervous traits. The avani's tail twitching behind them. Talrani stood tall (or sat straight if they were sitting) with their arms crossed, looking menacing with their scowls. Hinu's facial fins twitched under the weight of their nerves. Even Ulfric, an AI, looked perturbed by the long stretch of silence. Captain J'Khan looked particularly murderous.

"This is taking far too long! What are they even doing over there? Did they even receive the transmission," asked the captain sharply, glaring outside the viewport at the alien vessel that just sat there, motionless.

"I sent the Package out on all frequencies possible. Even if they were just newly entering the space age, which judging by the design of the vessel seems unlikely, they would've received the transmission," the AI replied, looking rather insulted that it was implied that he made such a simple mistake.

"Well, then why are they just sitting there," growled the reptile.

"It may be that their communications array was damaged in whatever fight they came out from. Or perhaps their technology is just far too alien to interpret our signals correctly. There are over a hundred different scenarios that could be in play here."

The captain huffed in annoyance and went about grumbling under his breath as he sat in his captain's chair, taking a bite out of his dinner that had been delivered to the bridge. Normally, the captain would take his meals with the crew in the Beselador's mess. However, given the current situation, the ship's cook and his helpers had taken it upon themselves to deliver a small meal to everyone currently working on the bridge and elsewhere on the ship. No doubt similar actions were being taken by the other ships' cooks and their subordinates, their crews most likely not being able to leave their posts.

Sarim himself had taken his meal on the bridge, not wanting to miss a possible second of this first contact. Though he himself had to admit that he was getting tired of waiting for a response.

"Perhaps we should send out another package, in case they were incapacitated at the time we sent the first one," the avani scientist suggested.

Ulfric shook his digital head. "I think we only need to give them a bit more ti-"

The AI was cut off suddenly as the systems registered an incoming signal with a loud **Ping** noise. Instantly, everyone on board the bridge was alert. J'Khan even put down his dinner, something near unheard of for a talrani. 'Never get between a talrani and its meal', the saying went, 'Unless you wish to join it." A bit racist of a saying to be sure, but it did have some truth to it. Talrani were very protective of their food.

Sarim shook his head free of such thoughts and refocused his attention to the task at hand.

"Well, what is it," he'd ask aloud, his brain calling out for answers.

The ship's AI was quiet for a moment before glancing up at Sarim. "They were kind enough to provide a translation matrix. Turns out they were having trouble understanding what was being sent to them, that's why it took so long for them to reply."

The researcher groaned. "Not that! What was their reply? Did they tell you who they are? What happened that damaged their vessel?!"

If Ulfric had a physical form he might have found himself being grabbed by the lapels of his clothing by the excited scientist. Inwardly he merely chuckled at Sarim's energetic display. Organics were so interesting to watch at times.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, Sir. The message is this," the AI began, bringing up the recording.

"_**This is Commander Jane Shepard of the Normandy. Our ship has been damaged while fighting against the alien race known as the Collectors. We escaped, but in doing so, we found ourself sent to an unmapped part of the galaxy. We ask for assistance in repairing and returning to our known space. We wish for nothing but peace as well and swear we mean you or your people any harm.**_"

The transmission ended, the buzzing of voices from the various crew on board the bridge filling the gap left by the alien's message.

Sarim himself was deeply intrigued by the message. The title Commander was a military rank, so did that make this vessel one under a military's command? Who were these Collectors? They must've been advanced to cause such damage to the ship, the Normandy he corrected himself. He rolled the word over his tongue. So strange. It must've been an important name to earn itself a place on a ship's side. And then there was this Jane Shepard character. The voice was female, that he could tell. He smiled at that. A female in the military. The avani scientist felt pleased to know that at least this new species let their female's fight in wars.

But there was another part of the message that bothered the scientist. Namely, what wasn't said. The aliens gave no information on their affiliation. No political entity to identify themselves with. "Did this make them rebels," wondered Sarim, pacing back and forth on the bridge, deep in thought. Outcasts? Exiles perhaps? Why were they fighting these Collectors? Who were they? Commander Jane Shepard didn't even introduce her own species. All these unanswered questions were worrying to Sarim. He didn't think it would go down well with his superiors if the first race(s) they met since the Arrival turned out to be pirates or outlaws of all things. Though the ship, for all its damage, did look a bit too shiny and new to belong to brigands. Perhaps though they were bandits who cared about their ship's appearance. Maybe…

He was taken out of his thoughts by J'Khan gripping his shoulder firmly. Puzzled, he looked up at his reptilian co-worker, blinking in confusion.

"You're gonna wear a hole through the bulkhead pacing like that," the captain chuckled in his deep, throaty voice. "Also, Ulfric has been trying to get your attention for the past couple of minutes."

Blushing under his fur, suitably embarrassed for zoning out as he had just done, he turned to the AI. Ulfric, bless him, didn't comment on the avani's previous actions.

"Should we send a response, sir," asked the AI.

Sarim nodded. "Er, yes. We should."

Clearing his throat, and at Ulfric's nod, the scientist spoke, saying, "Normandy, this is Chief Scientist Sarim den Pagor, leader of the scientific expedition in this system you have just entered. We have heard your call for assistance. We reaffirm our previous statement: We are here to render aid and assistance to your vessel and its crew. Unfortunately, we do not have the materials nor the workers available to repair your vessel here. We can escort you to our nearest shipyard for repairs if that is agreeable to you. Otherwise, you may be stuck here for an unknown amount of time until such supplies can arrive."

The message was sent and he waited for the reply. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait as long for it as he had to for the last one. It was five minutes later when the reply was received.

"_**Beselador, Commander Shepard here. We are grateful for your offer, but as we lack the star charts to know where we may be possibly heading, the task may prove difficult. Also, with our current FTL abilities limited due to our damage, it is unknown whether or not we could make it the entire trip to this shipyard.**_

'_Hmm, that could prove difficult indeed_,' the scientist thought. He pondered the thought for a moment, looking to J'Khan for assistance. The talrani smiled at Sarim, the solution to this problem having come to him easily.

"Normandy, this is Captain Batchu J'Khan of the Beselador," the talrani's deep voice carried itself clearly into the broadcasting equipment, "If the situation is not too critical, we can send for a specialized transport vessel big enough for your ship to fit inside. If you can spare us the details on the size of your spacecraft, I'm certain we can find a suitable ship to assist you in getting you and your vessel underway."

The wait was a bit longer this time for a reply.

"_**We can send you the appropriate details Captain. Thank you.**_"

"Not much of a talker these aliens," chuckled J'Khan.

Ulfric was busy receiving the necessary data from the Normandy, scrolling through his database for an appropriate transport ship for the size of the alien vessel, followed by eliminating those ships too far away to make it in a reasonable amount of time.

"Sirs," the digital being began, "The construction and repair vessel Anetham is located nearby. If we asked, they could be here within a standard galactic day's worth of time."

"I know the Anetham. Good captain, for a Hinu. She'll do," the talrani said, nodding. "Is she currently on assignment?"

"No, sir. Actually, she was assigned to come to this system anyway to dispose of the system's Key. So it will not be a difficult change for the Anetham to change tasks. Merely only to hurry up in getting here."

"How fortuitous," commented Sarim. "How soon can she be here?"

"Just over twenty standard hours if she pushes it," came the AI's reply after it finished its calculations. "At her current rate of travel, the Anetham would take at least three days to arrive."

The avani nodded. "Send the orders Ulfric. Make sure they understand what is going on."

"It will be done sir," chirped the AI.

J'Khan smiled, which to anyone unaccustomed to a talrani smile may find more than intimidating. He spoke into the broadcasting system, "Normandy. Captain J'Khan speaking. We have found a suitable transport that will be able to take your spacecraft to the nearest Commonwealth shipyard for repairs. It will take some time, but it will arrive before too long. Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up in no time at all."

"In the meantime, while we wait. We'd like to invite Commander Shepard over for a meeting, to further exchange the knowledge between our races and nations." This was Sarim speaking, barely able to keep his tail from twitching at the idea of all the possible data such an exchange might involve. "We'll accept a guard detail, and we swear by our forefathers that they'll be treated as guests of honour on board the Beselador. We can even offer a shuttle to bring you over if need be."

They waited for approximately five minutes before a reply was sent.

"_**We accept your offer to meet on board the Beselador. Would you please allow us some time to prepare? We'll send you a message once we are ready. As we have our own shuttle, we will not require the services of your own. Thank you for the offer though.**_"

"We eagerly await your message and your arrival then. Beselador out," Sarim said, before turning off the transmission feed. He slumped into the nearest chair, a mixed wave of excitement, nerves and exhaustion hitting him.

"Are you alright sir," asked Ulfric, the AI looking the faintest hint concerned.

"I'm fine," the scientist grumbled, rubbing his hand over his muzzle. "Just imagining all the possible things that can go wrong from this meeting."

"Don't be like that sir," the AI chided the avani lightly, "There is no need for such downward thinking. My calculations say that the chance of this ending poorly are extremely low. By the way, I've taken the liberty of alerting the captains of the task force that they can stand down and go to low alert, since we've established that these aliens are not hostile, at least at present. I've also notified them to not be alarmed when the shuttle leaves in the next few hours. While we wait, perhaps you should go lie down for a while sir. You've been up past the standard time allotment for healthy energy levels as is recommended by the Commonwealth navy."

"You know… I think I will do that. Thank you Ulfric," Sarim said, getting up and heading for the portside exit of the bridge to head for his quarters.

J'Khan took a bite out of his neglected dinner, almost immediately spitting back out onto its dish. He glared at the cold, offending meal and tossed it into the nearest recycler as he too left the bridge through the starboard exit. He'd grab something fresh to eat while he waited.

"_And a drink too. Ancestors know I'm gonna need it_," he thought to himself.

In the digital realm that Ulfric resided in, the AI pondered over a certain bit of information he had discovered, still debating over whether or not he should bring it to his superior's notice. When he'd scanned the vessel a few more times after the initial scan, he came across something that had piqued his interest.

Two unique digital signatures. Two distinctly separate artificial intelligences resided on the alien vessel, the Normandy. Two alien AIs.

Now that was something of great interest to the Commonwealth AI.

Ulfric hoped he'd be able to meet them soon.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's chapter two! So, we're seeing the Normandy's view to their abrupt entry into Commonwealth space, the crew's reactions to the discovery of an alien navy knocking on their door, their response, and then we switched over to the Beselador for their thoughts on the ensuing conversation. Not going to lie, it was difficult to write this chapter. SOOOO much dialogue, and I wanted to be able to write interestingly without getting too overly expositiony about it. I think I did an alright job at it. What did you guys think? Questions? Ideas? Suggestions? Let me know!**

**Next Chapter, worlds collide as Shepard and co prepare themselves to meet some new aliens and think about what they can say that isn't classified. The Beselador gets a message from the very top of command. And EDI and Legion are greeted by their newest digital counterpart. That and more, coming soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Alright, so my schedule for uploading was torn apart before it even started to form, so I apologize for taking a while to upload a new chapter. I have no real excuse for not doing so sooner, other than just bad timing, general laziness and a reluctance to write. Regardless, here is the late chapter three. **

* * *

From the captain's cabin that sat at the top floor on the SSV Normandy, Commander Jane Shepard did the one thing that she never thought she'd ever really had to do before; fussing over her appearance. Now that wasn't to say that Shepard did not care about her appearance. No, Jane was meticulous about her hygiene, always glad to get into the shower to wash away the days grime from missions or just the daily grind.

The problem was that years spent in the Alliance, from her youth on board starships to boot camp to her days in the N7 training regime had ground into Jane an 'only the minimal essentials' mentality. Normally this would be just fine for Shepard, but today was not one of those days.

"Is there nothing in here at all that doesn't have that damn Cerberus insignia on it," the commander would exclaim heatedly.

It didn't help that all she had to wear to what could be one of the most important first contact with an alien spacefaring entity in history were clothes that were either branded with a terrorist organization's brand, the dress she had worn in her mission to win Kasumi's loyalty which she swore she would never wear again (Making a personal note to throw the offending garment into the nearest incinerator next chance she got, Kasumi's insistence that every woman should have at least one dress be damned), and an off duty outfit that would definitely not do for such an important meeting. Miranda would definitely shoot her and bring her back again Lazarus Project style, should the ex-Cerberus operative found her wearing what had been dubbed by the crew as the 'space-hobo' outfit.

With a wince, Shepard recalled that the Normandy herself was broadcasting its insidious builder's mark on its hull. That would be fun to explain to these Commonwealth folks. Though, she didn't know how exactly the outside of the hull looked right now after all the fighting and escaping in the galactic core. Perhaps the offending mark had been scuffed off during the battle against the collectors.

"_And maybe the council has finally gotten their heads out of their collective asses about the Reapers_," Jane thought wryly to herself, getting back to her feet after closing the last of her quite bare clothes drawers. Now wouldn't that just be the thing? Of course, should they make it back to Council Space, they did have more than substantial evidence to back up the reality of the Reaper threat. "_But the Council has that habit of ignoring evidence that doesn't fit their view of the galaxy._"

Turning her mind away from such useless thoughts, Shepard began to debate whether or not she could get away with wearing her cleanest suit of armour when EDI's avatar popped up from its display pad.

"Commander," the AI greeted with its-hers, Shepard corrected herself, standard politeness. "Miranda Lawson requests entry into your quarters."

Curious as to what her XO would want, Jane nodded, saying, "Thanks EDI. Let her in."

"Right away Shepard," came the AI's goodbye.

A moment later the door to the cabin opened and Miranda walked in, a bundle under her arm. Shepard raised a brow when she saw that the raven-haired woman was wearing a standard Alliance battle dress uniform, no doubt perfectly measured to fit her body.

Miranda noticed the Commander's look and smiled a true smile, having dropped most of her ice-queen personality towards the end of their adventure.

"Standard Cerberus gear," she said, warm in tone yet official as always, "In case of necessary infiltration missions. I assumed it might be better to great our new friends in something less… controversial."

Shepard nodded, then gestured to the bundle in Miranda's arms. "And what is that?"

The other woman handed it over to the commander. "Something I think you'll find to be much more appropriate for this meeting."

Unfolding the package, Shepard grinned as her eyes took in what appeared to be a set of System's Alliance officer dress blues. Glancing at Miranda, the red-haired commander would give the brunet a chuckle.

"Cerberus gear eh?"

The commander's XO gave a noncommittal shrug. "When one needs to avoid detection one uses what is available."

Shepard smirked slightly at that and put the outfit on her desk. "I appreciate this a lot. Thank you, Miranda. I was getting to the point where I would start taking a knife and cut off all the insignias off what outfits I did have."

"I doubt that would have looked very professional," Miranda replied, "But then again we could pass it off as being a sort of human fashion." There was a short pause before the ex-operative's face grew more serious. "Commander, I am concerned about our new neighbours just outside. Cerberus had never even had an inkling of there being another space-faring race in the Traverse. And now we run into three entirely different species, all working under the same faction, with honest-to-god true AIs running around! It's well, a tad overwhelming."

During the few hours that had passed since their initial conversation, EDI's long-range star scans and mapping bore fruit and they were now aware of their location in the galaxy, which was good news. They were in what was considered part of the Attican Traverse, a vast unclaimed part of space that served as a buffer zone between Council Space and the Terminus systems. The system they were in was located in could be regarded as being just about the center of the triangle created by linking the Omega Nebula, the Eagle Nebula and the Galactic Core, though it was closer to the Core than the other two.

It was EDI's hypothesis that the Reapers had the Core Relay send the Normandy to this section of what was presumed deserted space, in order to isolate and prevent the Normandy from returning with news and information about their impending invasion. However, it seemed that this plan was for naught seeing as there were people of a sort living out here, undiscovered even by the Reapers.

Which was a concern, seeing as the Reapers had designed things so that all spacefaring life 'develops along the paths we desire' as Sovereign had once so eloquently put it. Yet this Commonwealth had clearly developed a form of space travel that was not reliant on the Mass Relays or on Eezo of any form. So whoever people these Commonwealth aliens are, the Reapers had no knowledge of them. Which meant that they were a complete unknown wildcard about to join in on the great galactic power game.

Shepard, though, was not too overly concerned about this looming situation. Rather, she was more focused on getting her crew to safety and their all important information to the right people. For all that the Council ignored her warnings, Jane knew there were some who did listen, namely, Councillor Anderson. So she waved off Miranda's concerns.

"As I see it right now, the more aliens we find means more ships and soldiers to pit against the Reapers," she told her XO.

Miranda looked like she wanted to dispute that statement, but she took a moment to mull it over in her mind.

"That is if they would believe us about the Reapers," the raven-haired woman eventually replied. "Not many want to believe in galactic life-ending threats."

Shepard gave an understanding look to her crewmate."If they are smart, they'll at least listen. I have a good feeling about this Miranda."

The XO of the Normandy had long ago come to the realization that when Shepard 'Had a feeling,' for good or ill, one better listen, so she nodded in agreement before going back to business mode. Turning to go, she said, "If that is all Commander, I'll leave you to get ready. We should get underway to the alien fleet within the hour. They've quite a while for us to prepare ourselves."

Of course, the reasoning behind this extended preparation time was to allow the Normandy some breathing room to do whatever repairs were possible with the limited materials on board, including the continued treatment of the injured crew. In case this meeting went awry and they found themselves to be in danger, the Normandy had orders to jump to FTL and take their chances in deep space.

Before Miranda could take her leave, however, Jane stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, the XO took in a rather sheepish looking Shepard. A truly bizarre sight to behold for certain.

"Commander," came Miranda's puzzled query.

Removing her hand, Jane idly fidgeted in place, a sign of nerves Miranda had picked up on for some time now.

"Miranda… as you know, I am a soldier through and through. With training, I know how to behave around dignitaries and diplomats and heads of state." She put her hand up, cutting off the XO's incoming scoff. "The Council doesn't count, the bunch of idiots." Shaking her head, she continued. "Anyways, despite all this experience, I've never participated in anything as diplomatically important as what we are going to do. So.. I would like to ask for your assistance.." Miranda blinked. Was that red showing on the commander's cheeks? "In making sure I look my best."

The Normandy's XO smiled. The great Commander Shepard, Killer of Reapers and the Destroyer of the Collectors, getting flustered over asking for help with her looks? Miranda never thought she'd see something like that. Still, she would gladly help her commander, her friend, with her predicament.

"Of course Shepard. Just let me grab my kit from my quarters," she'd say.

"I'll help out too," came the unexpected, perky, slightly Asiatic voice of one Kasumi Goto. The master thief popped into visual existence as she turned her cloaking field off. Her grin from beneath her hood screamed excitement. "We'll get you looking so good, you'll have those aliens eating right out of your hands the moment they see you!"

Something about the tone of Kasumi's voice made Shepard begin to sweat nervously.

Maybe she shouldn't have asked for help.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the armoury, one Garrus Vakarian was busy doing some last minute tune-ups on his M-76 Revenant, in preparation for the upcoming meeting with the aliens outside. Having been asked to join Shepard as part of the guard detail that would be allowed to go with her, Garrus wanted to be prepared for anything. The turian did lament that he could not bring his beloved sniper rifle with him, though he did realize that if a fight broke out, it would be more prudent to bring along something more suited for close quarters. Not to mention the aliens might take offence to someone bringing a sniper rifle on board their ship.

The turian turned his attention to who else would be joining Shepard's guard detail. Jacob, who was beside Garrus at the next table over working on his own pistol, was joining them. The dark-skinned human had the turian's respect. Jacob was a good soldier, a better friend and an amazing biotic. Garrus could trust Jacob. Miranda was coming along too, and while the turian's faith would be a bit shaky in regards to trusting the black-haired human, he too believed Miranda would do her best in regards to helping Shepard.

The turian smiled to himself as he began to reassemble his weapon with meticulous care. At least Shepard had managed to convince Miranda to wear proper armour, instead of that catsuit he first saw the woman in. Humans. Such strange creatures at times. Though Garrus had been informed that Miranda would be wearing an Alliance uniform of sorts instead of armour, but at least the woman would have her biotic barriers to protect her.

He wished that Tali would be joining them, as her tech specialty would be useful, but the quarian would be remaining on board to continue monitoring whatever repairs there are in case things went to hell. Mordin too would be staying, much to the salarian's own misery, as the scientist would've liked nothing more than to meet a brand new civilization, let alone three new species and an AI race. The salarian appeared to almost have a stroke when the news of what was happening was broke to the rest of the crew. He was silent for a whole ten seconds before recovering. However, he would remain on board the Normandy.

"Much work to be done," he said when he declined to go. "Patients need to be healed first. Anthropological studies later." He then said with all seriousness. "Expect notes however. Now go. Very busy!"

Samara declined to go, declaring fatigue. But the asari did offer her well wishes towards the group. Kasumi did as well, though something about the way she said it made Garrus think that their sneaky crewmember might join them invisible style. Thane would be going with them, and for all of Garrus' personal distaste for the assassin, no one could deny the drell's skill and, in the need of a hasty exit, his abilities would be most needed. Legion had desired to come along, well, as much as a machine could desire something.

Zaeed would be staying behind. Citing that 'gabbing about' would drive him mad enough to shoot something, the merc refused to join. Both Jack and Grunt would be staying on the Normandy, to which Garrus was most grateful. Neither had a diplomatic bone in their body. Rather, their form of diplomacy seemed to be who was faster at tearing their foes apart.

Rising from his position at the weapons table once his weapon was reassembled, Garrus gave a nod to Jacob, who returned it, picked up his gun and left the armoury. All was quiet on the CIC deck, something that rather unnerved the ex-vigilante. It reminded him too much of how the Normandy felt after the collectors had attacked and taken most of the crew captive. Yeoman Chambers was at her post though, doing her best working in tandem with EDI in an attempt to establish any sort of communications. From what Garrus had heard, something had damaged the long-range communication system, rendering even the all-powerful quantum entanglement based communications array inert.

"Anything to report," he asked. The human jolted a bit, appearing to have been focused entirely on her task and not registering the turian's presence until he spoke.

"No. Sorry Garrus, everything is still down, except for short range transmissions. But you already know that since those aliens outside were talking to us. Still talking to us actually. EDI is also working with them to fine-tune the translators. Don't want Shepard to accidentally start a second Contact War due to an error right?"

Her voice was a bit squeaky, tired and, if Garrus guessed, a tiny bit hysterical. His visor, which he never took off save for sleep, registered an elevated heart rate and some critical levels in the human's vitals.

"Chambers, when was the last time you slept," he asked kindly.

Rubbing at her wrists, the red-haired human looked very sheepish under the turians gaze.

"I can't.." she admitted. "Every time I close my eyes, I'm reminded of what I saw. The Collectors taking everyone. The base. What happened to the colonists…" She sounded so very weak, so unlike the normally bubbly woman who greeted everyone, including psychotic Jack, with a smile.

Garrus thought for a moment, before reaching over and turning off her terminal. "Chambers, this can wait. Go see Chakwas. You need rest, and she can give you something that can put you in a dreamless sleep." He waved off the protests simmering on the woman's lips. "Shepard needs us all at our best right now. That means getting some sleep and recovering. Okay?"

Chambers nodded, albeit reluctantly. She bounced back quickly though, a small spark of her old self shining through.

"Alright Garrus. I'll do that. EDI can run the diagnostics herself I guess. I just want to be useful."

"You're very useful Chambers," he assured her, guiding her over to the elevator and pressing the call button. "But you'll feel better and more able to help once you get some sleep."

The elevator, shockingly, came up quickly and the two entered it. Garrus pressed the crew deck and the cargo hold buttons for Chambers and himself respectively. As the doors shut and the elevator began its arduous descent, both were silent. When the doors opened on the crew deck, Kelly stepped off. She turned around to face the turian.

"Thanks, Garrus. Good luck at the meeting. Tell me all about these new aliens when you get back okay?"

"Will do," he promised with a chuckle before the doors closed. Sweet girl that Kelly. A bit strange, but sweet.

It wasn't long until the doors opened again, this time in the cargo hold. Stepping out, he saw Thane and Legion standing idly next to the shuttle, the pilot inside doing some last minute checks. Shepard, Miranda and Jacob would be down shortly, the turian assumed. No sooner had he walked over to the others than the elevator dinged again, signalling its return. Garrus blinked. Had EDI finally managed to find and fix that accursed bug that made the lift run so slow?

He didn't have time to ask as the doors opened and out stepped Jacob, Miranda and Shepard. All were dressed in Alliance colours. The turian's eyes immediately focused on his commander. Shepard had really gone all out, far more than he'd ever seen her dress up before, and he'd seen her pick up a call from the council wearing nothing more than her blood and geth fluid splattered armour before. That's how serious she was taking this meeting. Shepard's silver-green eyes flicked up to meet Garrus' blue ones. They locked gazes for a moment, after which she gave the smallest of tender smiles she knew he'd see before turning to answer a question Miranda had asked.

Not really paying attention to what was now being discussed between the two humans, Garrus quickly did a once over of his armour. Though his old armour he first had once he'd rejoined the Normandy after Omega would always be special to him, he could not dispute that having a non-damaged, fresh suit of armour to wear to a meeting between some new aliens was likely for the better. Not to mention not having a gaping hole in the collar meant no longer having a glaring weak point.

He was brought out of his musings by Shepard, who was standing in the shuttle's doorway. To Garrus' embarrassment, he realized everyone else save him was on board already.

"You coming Garrus," Jane asked, her strange human lips quirked upward in an amused expression.

"Right behind you Shepard," he replied, trying to save face, "Just had to do some minor diagnostic checks on my armour first."

The fiery-haired human rolled her eyes as the turian passed her and the hatch on the shuttle clamped shut after him. "Sure Garrus. Whatever you say."

They all got settled in as EDI ran the departure protocols, their pilot, which Garrus remembered was named Steffon, started up the engines of their little craft and began to pull out of the hold of the Normandy.

"Joker, did you notify the Beselador of our departure," asked Shepard, double-checking as she always did.

"Sure thing Commander. Their escorts know to let you by. No being blown to stardust," was the Normandy's pilot's reply.

"Let's just hope it stays that way," Shepard said, before cutting the line. She looked out at them all, her small escort team, and gave them all a reassuring smile. "Alright everyone. Here's the plan. We go on board, play nice with these aliens and try to learn their true intentions. Call me cynical, but no one helps another just out of the goodness of their hearts. Not in this part of the galaxy anyway. Do your best not to anger anyone. Especially those bigger fellows. They look like krogans, just without the humps but with horns. We don't need to get anyone's fingers trigger-happy." They all nodded in understanding. "This is a diplomatic mission. We talk. We get the Normandy Patched up. We get home. And prepare for the Reapers."

Jacob spoke up then. "Ma'am. About the Reapers. Do we mention them at all to the aliens?"

"If they ask about them, yes. I'm planning on telling them all about the Reapers and the threat they pose to every species in the Galaxy regardless. Just because they don't know about the Reapers, doesn't mean the Reapers will be merciful on them. They're in just as much danger as the rest of us."

Their pilot suddenly cut in. "Coming up on the Commonwealth fleet now ma'am," he informed them.

Finally, they'd be able to get a closer look at these ships. At least, that was the general mood as those on board the shuttle began to look out the viewing ports to try and see these alien vessels. Garrus took a breath before he too looked out, wanting to see.

Four looming metallic starships hung there in the void, the red giant's light casting them in an ominous glow. The largest one looked dangerous, Garrus could see what could only be weapons attached at certain sections of the hull, and according to EDI, was bigger than the average turian Cruiser as well! The two smaller ones were bigger than the Normandy, looked no less armed to the teeth than their larger cousin. The smallest one, the Beselador, Garrus believed as it was the one they were heading too, was only slightly smaller in length than the Normandy, but had more decks. It didn't look too armed from what the turian could tell, but he could see some smaller, gun-like protrusions on its hull as well. All the ships seemed to have greenish lights shining from various parts of their structures, along with white lights in what Garrus thought to be viewport.

"_They're watching us probably just as much as we are them_," he thought to himself. He gripped his weapon in his hands, taking a measure of reassurance from its presence. Regardless of what might happen, he'd get Shepard back to the Normandy. He promised himself that.

"Coming in now Commander," Steffon the pilot notified them as he curved the shuttle under the hull of the Beselador. There, on the underside of the vessel, two large bay doors opened wide, casting out bright light into the reddish gloom. With ease, the pilot guided them inside. EDI must've been relaying him instructions from the Beselador's crew was Garrus' conclusion to the ease in which they slipped in and down into a berth. The great bay doors slid shut, sealing them in.

"Environmental Scanners indicate that the atmosphere on board is breathable to all known forms of higher life. Environmental units will not be necessary," informed the ever polite AI.

"Thanks EDI," Shepard said with a smile. Turning to the rest of them, she gave them all a serious look. "Alright people. It's time."

The shuttle bays opened.

* * *

Sarim den Pagor stood waiting behind thick sealed doors, anxiously watching the shuttle land in the cargo bay through his wrist-tool's screen. He'd had it hooked up to the camera's network and was drinking in any and all details he could about the alien vessel.

Batchu J'Khan stood next to him, watching events from his own personal screen. He too was focused on the alien shuttle. As the bay door closed, he turned off his device and looked over his shoulder. Twelve Commonwealth Militiamen, part of the Beseladors personal guard compliment, stood behind him, armour clean and weapons ready if need be. J'Khan and Pagor were also dressed in their best, with the Talrani wearing his grey captain's uniform, recently pressed and cleaned, and the Avani wearing the greens of the Commonwealth Research Divisions official uniform.

Once Ulfric gave the all clear, the double doors to the cargo bay opened and they all marched in, heads held high in pride of this meeting. The dozen militiamen split into two groups of six, hands on the hilts of their plasma-blades and the others on their weapon holsters, and spread to either side of the shuttle, creating a clear path that the aliens would have to follow. At the end of the line stood J'Khan and Pagor who would receive the alien envoys.

The captain and the scientist all held their breath as the shuttle doors opened. Six figures could be seen standing inside, all of various shapes and profile sizes. Pagor gasped as three of them stepped out onto the metal plate flooring below their shuttle. It was like pages from history lessons come to life. Though they lacked the distinctive ridges on their head, the ice blue skin, triangular side ears and had fur (hair they called it, according to Ulfric) on their heads, for a moment the scientist thought that he could be seeing a Drelenian! He noticed J'Khan making the same connection, as the talrani's fists clenched ever so slightly before relaxing. Thankfully the murderous air passed quickly before anyone else picked up on it.

The three humans, as that's what they called themselves according to what little information was exchanged over the waiting period, stepped forward, letting the other three persons on board disembark. Pagor noticed that two of the humans were female, while the dark-skinned human must've been male. _"Such interesting dimorphism_," he thought, before his eye caught the other three. His jaw dropped ever so slightly when he saw that they were not human.

"_They had done this on purpose, to surprise us_," his brain would say once it caught back up to the present. Behind the trio of humans was a tall, avian looking alien in what looked to be heavy armour, a dark green-scaled reptilian looking fellow and… was that a robot!?

Mind blazing, the gears turning so hard inside his head one could swear they saw smoke coming out from his ears, Pagor almost missed the sextet of aliens approach. The red-haired one stood out in front, the other humans behind her to her left and right, while the other aliens and the robot formed up behind them. _"A rearguard. This one is important_," he thought to himself.

Sensing it was her move, the leader of the group extended its arm in what was a shockingly familiar gesture to the Avani.

"Lieutenant-Commander Jane Shepard of the SSV Normandy SR-2, Systems Alliance and of the Citadel Council. To my right is my XO, Miranda Lawson." The raven-haired woman dipped her head in greeting. "To my left is Officer Jacob Taylor." The dark-skinned male nodded. "Behind them are operatives Garrus Vakarian, Thane Krios and Legion." The remaining aliens also gave a gesture of acknowledgement as their names were called. "We are grateful for your hospitality and your offer to help us."

Pagor made sure he used his best smile and grasped the human's outstretched hand and shook it firmly in greeting. "The pleasure is ours I assure you Commander Shepard. I am the Chief Researcher on board, Doctor Sarim den Pagor. On behalf of the Avani Commonwealth, we welcome you and your colleagues aboard the Beselador. I can assure you, we will render every assistance available at our disposal to help your stricken vessel." He let go of her hand. "May I introduce my colleague, Captain Batchu J'Khan of the Beselador."

The Talrani was near three heads taller than the human, but she didn't seem intimidated at all. She boldly extended her hand out to the large reptile. J'Khan gave her a toothy smile, grasping her hand with his larger, four-fingered clawed hand. "Ma'am," he greeted with his deep voice.

If Pagor didn't know better he'd sworn that he'd seen the alien woman look at the Talrani with an expression akin to fondness, as if the reptile reminded her of someone she knew.

"Pleasure to meet you both," she said, glancing over at the militiamen. She gave a glance to one of the blades they were carrying and her brow quirked, as if puzzled. "I'm sure you want to discuss things Doctor Pagor," she trails off, as if making sure the title was correct.

The Avani nodded. "Of course of course. We have some small refreshments in our conference room, which we will be heading too shortly."

J'Khan turned to the side. "If you'd follow us please," he'd ask politely before walking off towards the cargo hold's exit. Sarim did as well, gesturing for them to follow. As they did, Eight of the guards turned and marched behind them, with four remaining behind to guard the shuttle the aliens had come on. Shepard looked suspicious for a moment, eyeing the guards out of the corner of her silver-green eyes.

Sarim was quick to assure her nothing was amiss, for nothing truly was. "Its to guard against the curiosity of the crew. No doubt after we leave, they'll be dozens of researchers and scientists scrambling to even get a hint of a scan of your shuttle Commander. We assumed you'd like to keep that private," he said.

Nevermind that Ulfric had done a scan of the vessel in its entirety as it entered the hold. The AI would be crunching the data right now. But they didn't need to know that.

The walk to the conference room wasn't long. But it was enough to give the aliens an insight on the Avani before actually talking to them in detail. The hallways were built somewhat plainly, but not depressingly so. It would appear to Shepard that they liked to mix utility with a bit of aesthetics in their design. There were no other crew to be seen on their way, the corridors having been cleared beforehand for the procession. Up an elevator (the alien, Garrus, quipped something about how they, meaning the Avani, should redesign all the elevators across the galaxy, whatever that meant), before they finally they reach the conference room. There was a large oval-shaped table with many seats and a large screen on the far side, with a large panel on the roof displaying a digital image of space above, the red glow of the star and the far away shine of other stars being shown. They all took seats at the end of the table and opposite of each other, so they could all see each other, with Sarim taking position in about the middle of the table, with Shepard opposite. J'Khan sat next to him on his right, while Shepard's group sat down next to her. Curiously, it was the Turian who sat to her left, not the other human, Taylor. The eight guards had split again, with four outside the door standing guard, while the other four stood at the corners of the room in stony silence.

After a moment to get settle, Shepard spoke.

"I feel I must inform you that I am no diplomat Doctor. I also do not have any authority to make any deals with the Commonwealth with regards to relations, trade, etc."

Sarim shook his head. "That is of no concern either. Neither J'Khan and I are diplomats either, or have the authority to make deals with foreign entities. That is the official Xeno-Corp Diplomatic Branch's job. I will say you will make a great many of them happy. They had nothing to do before, now they'll be busy as a swaxil swarm."

Though she wouldn't have known what a swaxil was, Shepard gave a smile nonetheless. "I am happy that our meeting will have some benefit. But Doctor, Captain, if none of us has the ability to make any diplomatic deals, then why are we here," she asked, her voice light yet her eyes suddenly distrustful.

"To talk. While we can let our diplomatics spar with their words, here and now, we can talk about simple things. Our species. Our governments. Our recent battles…" Sarim trailed off, glancing at the screen at the end of the room, which was displaying the Normandy in all its damaged glory. "Make no mistake Commander. The Commonwealth wants to help. All we ask in exchange is information. The kind you can give. What happened to your ship, how do you use the galactic keys to travel, simple things like that."

"By galactic Key, I assume you mean the Mass Relays," she asked.

The Avani nodded. "Yes. Our scientists have been trying to figure them out for over a millennium. All attempts to interact with them have failed with our technology."

"Alright. I can tell you that. But in exchange we have our own questions to ask," the human countered, "How do you travel without the relays? Why don't you use eezo in your ships? And why do your guards have giant knives on them? Guns I can understand, but giant knives?"

J'Khan chuckled, the low throaty rumble reverberating throughout the room. "I see your people do not have plasma-blades. They are most useful. Allow us a demonstration." The talrani gestured to the closest guard to his person, an avani by the look of the fluffy ears sticking out of his helmet. With a quick order, the guard withdrew his blade from its sheath. "It looks like a normal knife I'm sure. But it is quite deadly." With a nod from the captain, the guard pressed a switch on the hilt of the knife, which lit up with a bright blue sheen on the blade. Taking a cup from an alcove behind him, the guard put it on the table and swung his blade at the cup. Sarim watched the expressions on the aliens' faces as the blade passed through the cup, which then fell into two pieces, the parts that were cut glowing white hot.

"You have freaking lightsabers," came the astonished voice of the human officer Taylor. His eyes were huge and expression screamed incredulity.

The guard turned off the blade and sheathed it as J'khan laughed softly. "I am unsure of what a lightsaber is, but the plasma blade is standard issue for the infantry of the Commonwealth," he told the dark-skinned human. Turning to Shepard, he continued, saying, "I do hope that answers your question Commander."

"Yes. It does," the female said, still staring at the destroyed cup in awe. The dark-haired woman was looking as well, but her gaze was of a calculating look.

"There is one more member I'd like to bring in to meet with you before we continue," said Sarim. "Ulfric," he called.

The avani AI appeared standing on the table, with the appearance of a scientist, complete with lab coat and goggles. "Good day to you Commander Shepard," the AI greeted in its almost real voice. "I am the AI unit attached to the Beselador, known as Ulfric. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Shepard blinked at the abrupt entry of the AI. "Hello there. It's nice to meet you as well Ulfric."

"I have so many questions I want to ask! I hope we can come to an agreement about what you'd be willing to share. My processors are burning with anticipation." The projection turned and looked at the robot in the alien's party and grinned. "_Sooo _many questions."

"I'm sure you do. My XO, Miss Lawson, will be happy to answer all those questions," Shepard said, somewhat hurriedly. The human would give a sympathetic look in response to her colleague's sudden but brief glare.

"I would be happy to answer any questions you may have that I am able to give Ulfric," she'd say with a slightly accented voice.

"Wonderful! Same to you of course. Permission to give unclassified data sir," the AI asked his superiors.

"Granted," said Sarim. J'Khan simply nodded.

"We anticipate this exchange of data," a synthesized, robotic voice suddenly spoke out. Everyone, save for the guards, turned to the machine in surprise.

"He talks," shouted Ulfric shouted with what could almost be called glee.

Sarim smiled to himself and called for the refreshments. They would be here a while.

* * *

Ulfric was as ecstatic as a digital conscience could be. He devoured the information presented to him like a glutton at a galaxy cafe buffet! The AI would organize the data, write out a digital report and present it to not only Sarim, but to the Scientific Commission themselves! They'd have to give promotions to everyone on board the Beselador then.

While the AI was not surprised that there were many forms of life, he was amazed at the diversity of what was there. Asari, Salarians, Turians, Humans, Krogan, Drell, Hanar, Vorcha, Elcor, Batarians, Volus, Quarians and Geth. Judging by how his co-workers were taking in every word, they were enthralled as well. However, when one dug under the surface of these races, one found things that were disappointing to the AI.

The Compact.

"And No effort has been made to save whoever is left on the Drell homeworld? No effort to revitalize the climate?" Sarim's voice sounded horrified.

"None. No such missions have been undertaken since the majority of drell evacuated," Miranda stated.

The Drell Condition.

"No one knows how to treat Kepral's Syndrome," asked Ulfric

"No. It remains a rather untreatable terminal disease," Thane replied.

The First Contact War

"And the Turians just shot at the humans, an unknown species, without warning," J'Khan questioned, sounding displeased.

"Yeah, that's a black mark on the Turian Hierarchy's record," came the apologetic reply of the turian, Garrus.

And so on and on it went.

"They neutered the Krogan and left them to rot and fight among themselves for thousands of years, with no way of redeeming themselves?!"

"Slavers run rampant in the Galaxy and your council does nothing? Cultural heritage be damned, those batarians should be put down!"

"While I can understand the fear of AI, we went through our own phase of that emotion when the Tobor were being made, the utter lack of compassion towards the Quarian's exile is inexcusable!"

Truly, this Citadel Council had painted themselves in a truly stellar light. True, they may not know everything or their reasons behind their decisions, but Ulfric had come to the conclusion that this Council, they were utter idiots, corrupt and desired nothing more than to hold onto their own power and refuse to change anything that would upset their precious balance. Ulfric held back a grin. The Commonwealth would definitely upset that balance.

Finally, they came to some truly interesting questions.

"What caused all the damage to the Normandy," asked Ulfric.

All of the aliens looked to Shepard, who gave a small sigh. Taking a drink of Bura fruit punch that had been prepared for their use, she put it down and told them.

"It was a fight against a race of aliens called the collectors."

And so began the long story of Commander Shepard's fight for humanity's survival. She spoke of her death, and of her revival at the hands of a terrorist group called Cerberus, who wanted her to fight the Collectors. How they were kidnapping entire colonies of humans and turning them into organic paste. Sarim looked sick and J'Khan had a furious look in his eyes as she told them about their desperate fight in the galactic core on the Collector base to save the colonists and their kidnapped crew, only to find the colonists gone, already processed into a giant mechanical abomination. Which they then killed. And promptly blew up their base, exterminating them all to oblivion.

"But they were only the puppets," she said, finishing her story. "The real threat are the Reapers."

Ulfric was certain that if he had flesh, his skin would've been crawling from that word. Shepard's voice oozed hatred when she said that word.

"What are the Reapers then," he asked.

Shepard told them everything. How the Reapers had built the relays to control the technological progression of all the galaxy's races. The Cycles of Extinction. The harvesting. How they almost returned but how Shepard and her crew had stopped them two years ago. How the Reapers were using the Collectors to harvest humans to build the reaper abomination they'd killed. And that the Reapers were coming. They'd only been delayed.

Throughout her entire explanation, Ulfric saw the expressions of his superiors grew more and more dark and angry. Even the Guards seemed to be uneasy. The AI understood why though. The Arrival. It was a scar that, though centuries old, was still fresh in the minds of those in the Commonwealth. All that effort, all those lives lost. And now it looked like it would be all for nothing.

The worst part is that, according to Commander Shepard, close to no one took her warnings seriously. Only a small amount of people believed her. Her crew. This councillor Anderson, who although was a member of this Citadel Council had little power. And then this Cerberus, a terrorist organization which Shepard had just cut ties with. Yes, Shepard was well and truly left out to sea in the middle of the biggest storm in this galaxy.

"Commander Shepard. Am I correct in saying that there is a race of giant robot aliens coming to kill us all and turn us into more of them," Sarim asked, propping his muzzle up atop his hands, staring down at the human with all seriousness.

"Yes. The Reapers are coming, and we all face extinction unless we can band together to fight them," she stated with deep sincerity, truly believing what she was saying.

Sarim sighed before leaning back in his seat. "Death once more comes knocking on our doors, and just like before, a galaxy stands divided before it."

"Again," Shepard repeated with a puzzled expression on her face, "What do you mean 'again'?"

Before Ulfric's co-worker could reply, the AI received an incoming transmission.

"Sirs, the Anetham just jumped into the system. And she isn't alone. The ninth fleet is jumping in behind her," he would relay to Sarim and J'Khan. "It seems news of our little meeting has spread far beyond just this system."

"Thank you Ulfric," Sarim said. He turned to Shepard and her crew. "It seems that my superiors have gotten wind of our discovery much faster than I hoped. I wish we had more time to chat Commander Shepard, but it seems you'll be too busy to talk with a scientist and captain of a lowly science vessel like myself."

"Why, what is going on," she asked, sounding very tense. In fact, her entire guard seemed on edge, looking like they would spring into action at the slightest provocation.

Sarim gave her a smile.

"Why, it seems that the King has come here to say hello."

* * *

**Author's Note: SOOO much dialogue. Why? Why must dialogue be so hard to write! And in an interesting way, that sounds natural! I really hope that I did it all alright. Because I hate dialogue. I've been working on triple-checking my work for errors, but if you see any, please let me know. Cause I hate writing things with errors in it. Regardless, that's chapter three written and done with. I struggle with writing good characters. But I'll keep trying. If things don't make sense, please let me know and I'll rewrite it. So enjoy it. Please. And review my writings, constructive criticisms and words of encouragement are well appreciated. And if anyone has tips to share of writing dialogue or characters, do share them as well. I need all the help I can get. Also it should be mentioned I wrote all this and finished it in a single day. Please forgive any sloppish mistakes. Uploading things at midnight is a pain in the ass. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: I've been very happy with the positive feedback I've been receiving. Thank you all for your support.**

**I'm not quite happy with this chapter. Something keeps bugging me about it, but after spending several hours rewriting parts of this over and over again, and being far too picky for my own good, I'm putting it up here. Time will tell if this is a mistake. **

**Enjoy!**

**Also, warning for some exposition in this chapter. I know its not everyones cup of tea**

* * *

In the depths of the Normandy's cargo bay, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, known better as Tali by the crew of the Normandy, was drowning. Not in the literal sense of a liquid filling the precious lungs of one's respiratory system; one would find it hard to do so given her environmental suit. No, rather it was the piles upon piles of materials packed into crates that had been delivered to the ex-Cerberus vessel that threatened to overwhelm the engineer. Why was there a mountain of finely processed metals and other materials in the hold? The Commonwealth would be the answer, and the name gracing most of the Quarian engineer's curses.

As a gesture of goodwill, the aliens had given Shepard all the needed resources to repair and even retrofit the Normandy back to near perfect condition. Tali's Commander and friend, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth given that the Normandy was a slowly dying ship without any help, had accepted the offer. Hence Tali's predicament of being slowly boxed in an ever-growing maze of supplies gathering in the hold.

The events leading up to this current situation could be considered rather bizarre, at least from the perspective of those on board the Normandy. When a massive fleet suddenly appeared in the system, whose numbers reached at least into the low hundreds, Tali had been on the CIC deck talking with Joker about recent events, taking a well-deserved break from doing what she could to prevent the Normandy from turning into an irradiated metal husk. Though one couldn't tell due to her visor hiding her face, both Tali and Joker's jaws dropped at the sheer size of not just the incoming Alien Armada, but just the _colossal _size of the ships themselves! There were ships that were larger than even the liveships from the Quarian fleet! And one that had to be, mind-bogglingly so, over _twice_ that size! Tali nearly fainted where she stood from the shock of it all while Joker began to panic and try to bring the Normandy around to an escape vector. Only to be stopped by EDI.

"I apologize Joker for taking control, but the approaching fleet is not Hostile," EDI was quick to assure them both. Tali wanted to take the biggest wrench she had to the AI right then and there. EDI made to continue, unaware of the murderous thoughts of the quarian, "The Beselador's shipboard AI, an entity known as Ulfric, has relayed that this fleet is here escorting the Commonwealth's leader, and is meant to deter any perceived threat to their safety."

"Perceived threat my ass," grumbled the pilot in protest. "Their totally trying to intimidate us! And it's working!"

EDI ignored the pilot's dramatics. "Commander Shepard has been informed of the fleet's arrival, and is returning to the Normandy as we speak."

A tense twenty minutes passed until Shepard was once more on board. The Commonwealth navy had held its position during that time at a respectable range from the Normandy. The task Force Utaris and the Beselador had gone off the join them, no doubt to give their reports in person. From what the away team had told them, the King, along with the most important heads of state in the Commonwealth were on board the largest ship in the fleet.

It made Tali's head spin just to think about that monster-ship, without even the faintest hint of eezo! Element Zero, or eezo, was the fuel that powered just about everything in the galaxy. From the tiniest comm-beads to the largest ships known before now, everything had used eezo. The more mass an object has, the more eezo it required; on top of that, the requirements didn't increase linearly, but exponentially. While a Frigate, only a hundred meters long on average, required about two hundred units of eezo, Dreadnaughts, which were about a thousand meters long, required upwards of two thousand units of eezo. The Commonwealth vessel would have required thousands of units of Eezo to function, yet according to EDI, not a trace of it was found anywhere near the vessel. It and the rest of the vessels of the alien fleet's very existence flew in the face of thousands of years of scientific research that said that FTL was _impossible_ without Eezo!

Despite not being about to blow up into stardust, Shepard was hardly in a good mood. Tali had heard from Miranda that while they had answered most of the questions posed to them by those on board the Beselador, including a good amount of their histories and recent events, the Collectors and the approaching death by the Reapers included, they had barely been able to ask their own questions in turn before the new fleet had arrived and they had been dismissed back to the Normandy. It was an uneven exchange of information that had happened, and Shepard was not pleased by it, nor was she impressed by being dismissed as she had.

Still, Shepard would not turn down their previous and still standing offer to help. So when a large ship detached itself from the fleet, taking up position outside the battle group and sent an invitation for the Normandy to land, Shepard accepted. The ship was long and rectangular, Tali had noticed, built more like a brick than the rather practical looking ships it had left behind. The Anetham, a construction vessel of sorts. And it was the size of a quarian liveship. Perhaps not as 'tall' as a liveship, but long enough and very broad in size.

"_What sort of construction projects would require a ship of that vast size to be needed_," the quarian had wondered. Then she shuddered at some of the possibilities. Perhaps it was better that she didn't know.

The Normandy had approached the Anetham with cautious speed, following directions given to them by the traffic controller on board. On the side of the great brick-shaped vessel, two massive doors parted, illuminating the void beyond and revealing what appeared to be a dockyard not too unlike that of the Citadel's, though it was clearly all enclosed rather than exposed to the void. All on board the Normandy were surprised when the traffic controller went to politely inquire whether they would prefer a manual or automated docking procedure. Joker of course, quickly replied with the grace he had, being little to none, that he would not be handing control of his ship over to a computer, which he quickly amended with 'present company excluded' with regards to EDI's presence.

The TC officer had actually been amused at Joker's reply, as humour could be sensed in the voice as it informed them that it was perfectly fine, and that many captains and pilots considered it a point of pride to land and dock their own vessels rather than relying on the automated procedures available, before sending the Normandy's pilot instructions of where their berth was inside. The ship's docking procedure that followed went smoothly, with the Quarian, still taking everything she had seen in, staring at all the alien ships that were already docked inside. She could see the alien crews scattered across their hulls, torches lit and sparks flying off as repair work was done. It had filled Tali with a sense of nostalgia, reminding her of the always crowded, always bustling crews of the Quarian Flotilla going about their days. Most work halted though, at least for a moment, as the Normandy passed by each of their ships before the damaged vessel came to rest in a rather isolated berth away from most of the other vessels. Which was something the inner engineer and starship-fangirl of Tali mourned. She wanted to see those vessels up close dangit!

An entourage of several differing aliens approached as the Normandy's cargo ramp dropped down to meet the alien metal floor with a loud clank. Shepard and the majority of the squad, sans Jack and Grunt, walked down the ramp to meet them. The two parties met at the base where ramp and floor met.

The alien at the head of the foreign group spoke first. Tali noted that this alien was a hinu, recognizing the appearance from the image she had seen hours ago, with blue squishy looking skin and facial fins being quite recognizable. She also recognized the other aliens present, the furred avani, the scaly talrani, more hinu, and, at the sight of these she shivered, a trio of mechanized robots that stood just shorter than the talrani, the AI's called the Tobor. All were wearing officer's uniforms by the looks of them, the tobor merely wearing decorated cloaks over their one shoulder.

"Commander Shepard," she, or at least the voice leaned towards being feminine in tone, began, looking straight at the red-haired human. The hinu had no doubt been briefed as to who was in charge of the Normandy. She gave a short half bow before straightening. "Welcome on board the Anetham. You and your crew are our honoured guests, your presence most appreciated. I am Captain Nedve Yulili."

"Thank you, Captain, for having us," was Shepards polite, if clipped reply. "We are indebted to you for your assistance."

The hinu waved a four-fingered, webbed hand, as if dismissing the notion. "You owe no debts Commander. If anything we are indebted to you."

Confusion had bubbled inside the quarian. What did that mean?

Shepard herself raised a brow in puzzlement. "How do you mean Captain?"

Yulili smiled at the group. "Knowledge gained is power. And you have given us great knowledge of the galaxy outside our borders Commander. The threat posed by the Reapers is too great for the Commonwealth to ignore. It would be calamitous to do so," she exclaimed.

Every one of the Normandy's squad seemed surprised that the news of the Reapers had already gotten out. Moreso when some came to understand what was implied, Shepard included. "You mean.." began the Commander, astonishment in her voice, before it soon trailed off into silence.

The Captain nodded, her voice kind. "I can assure you, Commander Shepard, that while nothing official has been decided, those among the Commonwealth aware of the situation do believe your claims about the Reapers existence and their threat against all life."

Tali, and indeed the rest of the squad, had been floored by this declaration. They had tried for years to get the council's and other important figures in the galaxy's heads out of the sand with no success, and here, an entirely new star-nation believed them right off the bat? The quarian thought she should've pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.

Giving the group a few moments to recover from her previous statement, Yulili continued on. Changing topics, her disposition became much more official in stance. "Anyways, right now we have some pressing needs that must be resolved before anything else can be done," Reaching over to her subordinate, the hinu took hold of a datapad in their hands. It was of a different design than that used in council space, looking more sleeker and the display not of the colour orange as it was elsewhere. Yulili handed the device over to Shepard, who took it carefully into her hands.

Glancing it over, Shepard asked, "What is this exactly?"

The captains fellows began handing out several other similar data pads to the squad members. The hinu herself gave each of them a sympathetic look.

"The bane of every nation," she said solemnly. "Bureaucracy."

All of this had been over three weeks ago now. The forms to be signed had been agreements to follow the Commonwealth's laws while on board the Anetham, namely not to bring harm, damage etc, to anyone or anything during their stay and vice-versa. The Normandy was to be treated as extra-territorial ground, somewhat like an embassy in terms of function, and no Commonwealth citizen could enter without permission from the Commander or the ranking officers of the Normandy. There were also authorization forms for the delivery of goods and materials for needed repairs, as well as permission forms for Avani work crews to assist in them. It was quite generous terms to be offered really, and everyone, even meticulous Miranda, signed the papers with little issue.

As well, each member of the Normandy had been issued a passport, directly linked to each crewmember's distinct biochemistry, allowing them access to all public areas of the Anetham. Something that in three weeks Tali had yet to utilize, having been far too busy patching up the drive core to her tip-top standards. Hence her presence in the hold trying to get some semblance of order in the chaos, before a voice came to Tali's attention.

"Permission to come aboard ma'am," came a young, masculine voice from over a crate stack made up entirely of electrical wiring. It was foreign to Tali's ears, so not one of the crews' then as Tali had become, perhaps not good friends with everyone on board the Normandy, but acquainted well enough to recognize their voices. Given Tali's status of Chief Engineer, the quarian had the authority to allow aliens on board the ship, which she enacted then.

"Come aboard," she called out, squeezing past several crate stacks to come out in the more maneuverable section of the hold. At the base of the Normandy's ramp stood an avani, with thick russet-coloured fur covering his body, a colour that seemed very rare among what avani Tali had come across, with white fur on his cheeks and muzzle. He was wearing a set of what Tali assumed to be standard work apparel, given how she had seen the other work crews wearing similar garb. Apparently, the apparel of the workers and indeed most of the clothing found in the Commonwealth were made from a synthetic material made to fit each wearer's body, and even had 'dumb ais' wired into them to regulate their wearer's temperature. The avani standing before Tali was also carrying a smaller version of the plasma blades Shepard had told them about. Tali had noticed most if not all the work crews carried such a blade. The quarian had wanted to study them dearly.

Next to the Avani stood a Tobor carrying a large crate. Now those had been difficult to get used to. Despite gaining a good, if cool, friendly relationship with Legion, Tali couldn't say she was entirely past her disposition towards AIs. Whenever one passed her by, the quarian had to resist the urge to go for her shotgun resting at the small of her back.

The avani gave a friendly smile and saluted the quarian. It was rather strange, the quarian mused, the way she was being treated. The Quarians reputation in the galaxy hovered just above the opinions held by the vorcha. They were thought of as vagrants, thieves and undesirables, getting their just desserts at the hands of the Geth due to their experiments with AI. But here? Here, everyone she came across treated her with genuine respect and regular kindness. It was as though she was considered an equal among all of them, despite having just made contact with one another, and their different, highly-advanced society which normally should be a cause for some friction between them. She was never questioned about her authority, only asked for clarification of the orders she handed out, or for additional instructions as the workers did their jobs around the Normandy. Tali felt like she had the 'rug ripped out from under her' as the human saying went.

"Greetings Ma'am," the avani called out from his spot at the bottom of the ramp. "Corporal Lancyse den Adasga, this is my Tobor partner, designated 'Cody', with a delivery for the Chief Engineer of the Normandy."

"I am the Chief engineer," Tali replied, gesturing for them to come into the hold, to which they swiftly ascended. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. A pleasure to meet you Corporal Lancyse."

The avani gave a polite bow of greeting. "Please, call me Lance," he said kindly. "Where would you like this?"

The quarian gestured to the hold in general. "Wherever you can find room Lance. And please, call me Tali."

"As you wish ma'am," the avani replied with a small smile. Turning to the tobor next to him, he said, "You heard the lady Cody. Put it where you can find room for it."

"Yes sir," the digital being said before the machine walked deeper into the hold with its cargo.

Tali watched the AI walk off before returning her attention to the avani, only to find him looking her over, brows furrowed as if puzzled about something.

"Can I help you with anything else Corporal," she asked, letting a bit of annoyance leak into her voice.

The avani either didn't notice or didn't care. "So you're a quarian, correct?"

"Yes," Tali answered, feeling a bit puzzled by the question.

"How come you're the only one on board the Normandy," he asked, looking at the quarian. Even with her tinted visor, Tali could see that Lance's eyes were of a deep, bold, golden colouring. "Given what we can ascertain, Commander Shepard is not of a xenophobic disposition, instead welcoming members of alien species to her crew and putting them in rather high officer positions. Based off that, I find it confusing that you are the only quarian on board." The entire time, the avani kept his voice polite, if a bit nervous, as if he was concerned he might say something to offend the quarian.

Tali shrugged. "It has to do with Shepard's previous connections with Cerberus. Are you aware of who they are," she enquired.

Lance seemed to frown. 'Yes, I have read up on them. Nasty pieces of societal garbage."

Tali nodded. "Cerberus committed various terrorist actions against the Quarian fleet, which did nothing to endear the quarian people to them. As well, most quarians do not believe that the collectors even existed, let alone the Reapers. I worked with Shepard almost three years ago now. I know Shepard, and I trust her. I knew about the Reapers, Keelah I helped kill one of them. So while I didn't like that Shepard was working with Cerberus, I joined her because she needed me," she finished, her voice firm with resolve in her loyalty to Shepard. Though she left out the part about not joining Shepard right away, but Lance didn't need to know that.

Lance smiled. "You sound very passionate about Commander Shepard. It is good to see such loyalty from a ship's crew to their leader," he said approvingly. After a moment, he continued. "I had another question Miss Tali." At her acknowledgement to continue, he asked, "Is it true that your people have no immune system, and can only live in your environmental suits?"

At this the quarian sighed, nodding. "Our immune systems were never really strong to begin with on our homeworld. After centuries in exile, what little of it remained became basically non-existent. A single suit rupture can be deadly if not treated."

The avani looked truly appalled at this information. "By the stars, that sounds like a horrible existence, to be trapped in a suit all one's life. It may mean little coming from me, but I am so very sorry your people have been reduced to such a state," he stated with deep sincerity.

"Do not worry about it too badly," the quarian assured the furred alien, her voice sadly resigned to what had happened to her race. "We've adapted as much as we can, and have protocols and repair tools and whatnot to survive. The quarian fleet has been our home for centuries, as we've been banned from colonizing new worlds, and it will likely stay that way for longer, should we survive the Reapers."

When she next looked to Lance, the avani appeared to be thinking deeply about something, probably what she had said, before suddenly looked very resolute, as if he had decided on a course of action and wouldn't stop until he finished it. "I promise you Miss Tali, that the Commonwealth will not ignore the quarian people's situation. Your people will no longer be left to fend for themselves, sentenced to slowly perish by an uncaring intergalactic government. It would be a crime against the entire Commonwealth if we did not render some sort of aid to your people," he said with the most absolute and sincerest conviction to the quarian.

Tali merely nodded. It was doubtful anything could, let alone would be done, but she appreciated the sentiment regardless. "Thank you, Corporal Lance."

"Of Course Ma'am." The tobor, Cody, returned, having completed its task. "Well, it seems we have completed what we came here to do, and will leave you to your work. If you need anything at all Miss Tali, from workers to more materials, please do let us know.."

"I'll keep that in mind," the quarian replied with a chuckle.

The avani turned to leave, but before he did, he looked back and smiled. "If you don't mind Ma'am, the logs show you haven't been off the Normandy for the entire time you've been here. Once you are finished for the day, I'd be most honoured to give you a tour of the Anetham."

Tali thought about the offer. She did have so much to do, but honestly, she could delegate the neediest parts to Ken and Gabby. The quarian was terrified of running into a tobor and mistaking it for a geth and shooting it by mistake, but if she was to be accompanied by Lance, perhaps she wouldn't have to worry too much about that happening. And did she really want to spend another night by herself in Engineering with nothing but a tube of sterilized nutrient paste for company?

The quarian made up her mind. "You know what, I'd like that very much," she told Lance.

The avani beamed.

* * *

It wasn't until later that Tali received the unfortunate news that she'd have to cancel her exploratory plans for the evening.

"The King has requested our presence at a meeting between him and his councillors," Shepard had told them all. At some of their protests, Shepard silenced them all with her infamous stern Commander look. "The King asked for you all by name to attend," she continued on, putting emphasis on the fact that the ruler of a sovereign star nation had asked them to come by name, something that they would be hard pressed to turn down.

Tali found herself becoming quite annoyed at that; after having finally decided to get out of the Normandy and explore with Lance as her guide, she was now unable to. Yes, it was an invitation by an important ruler, but she had already made plans dangit! She sent off a message to Lance, the two having exchanged contact details before they had parted earlier, letting him know that she'd be unable to go due to external circumstances.

He replied that he had just gotten orders and that he would have to cancel as well. Apologies and promises of trying out another time were exchanged.

With her environmental suit cleaned to almost utter sterility and a pack of nutrient paste stash away in her suit's many pockets to snack on during the no doubt long and boring meeting, Tali was as prepared as she felt she could be, and went to go and wait in the cargo bay for the others. According to Shepard, the meeting was to be held on-board the Anetham, in a section of a ship that most of the work crews were not allowed access to. They were to meet an escort who would take them to the hall where they would have their audience with the avani ruler.

Garrus arrived, wearing a set of turian formal wear, which looked very out of place on the usually armour wearing turian. The turian had been busy, calibrating not only the gun systems of the Normandy, but also every other system he could get his talons on. According to the turian, everything he had so precisely calibrated had been knocked out of whack by the battle in the Galactic core, and every time a new piece of equipment was installed on the Normandy, Garrus had to re-calibrate everything all over again as it reset the system. Despite all this trouble though, Garrus managed to find the time to go around and explore the vessel they were docked on. He had been relating what he had found to the crew when he had returned.

"There is a park here on board this ship. Not a large one, but big enough that it's almost a small forest, and it has a small pond. Its got some sort of barrier around it. When you're inside, you barely hear the bustling sounds of the ship around you," he told the skeptical quarian.

Thane, who had borrowed a suit, forgoing the suit jacket, from the newly christened 'Costume locker' of Miranda's, had confirmed it.

"It truly is a peaceful place. I learned that it was built for the construction crews who live on board during long projects, to remind them of their homes," the reptilian male explained

Which brought up the topic of just what was so big that it needed what was basically a small space station in all but name.

The Asari Justicar Samara, who forwent any formal wear, instead opting to remain in her normal attire, offered what she had heard. "I was told during my time among the workers here, that they used it to build a massive cultural complex of sorts, a place entirely devoted to the works of culture, art and letters." One could almost say the Justicar approved.

"No, no, It was a giant science station they had built," Mordin said, sounding quite sure. Or excited. Probably both. "Massive Complex. Thousands of Scientific Minds! Limitless resources! Physics. Genetics. Engineering. AI. All sorts of Research. Can't even begin to imagine the possibilities such a place enables!"

Tali was certain that the salarian scientist would have sold his soul to be in such a place.

"You're both wrong," said Kasumi, popping into existence as she dropped her cloak, wearing her normal thief's gear. "They used it to build a device that could harvest materials from black holes!"

Tali blinked, everyone else who heard the master thief was struck silent.

"Impossible," Mordin cried out in shock. "Absolutely Impossible!"

"I thought so too," was Kasumi's jovial reply. "But that's what I was told! They even showed me pictures of the thing and its massive!"

As Mordin went off into a tirade about how such a construct around a black hole was impossible, Tali grew more thoughtful. She thought about the massive ships present in the fleet outside, bigger than anything she had ever seen, the ones who didn't need eezo to function. The materials delivered to the Normandy were advanced, of a quality far beyond even what she had seen on any ship from the Citadel. She thought about the ship she was on right now, a vessel so large to be a small compact city, completed devoted to the supposed building of these 'megastructures'. Was it really too much to believe that the Commonwealth could build such grand wonders? And if they were so adept at building such colossal structures, what else could they do. She remembered Lance's promise from earlier that day. Tali had thought it to be only a mere good-natured thought. Now though, she began to have a little belief in the avani's words.

"Good evening to you all!" The group turned their attention down the ramp to Captain Yulili, dressed in a spotless uniform, with some officers and some guards standing with her. "I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation. While I don't know the specifics of how it works, Miss Goto is correct about the existence of the matter decompressor. The same with the mega-art installation that lady Samara mentioned, and the science nexus brought up by Doctor Solus. They, and other structures like them, are a solid part of the pride and joy of the Commonwealth. And more are being planned and built even as we speak."

Mordin spluttered inarticulate gibberish at the hinu's words, while Shepard, who had just stepped off the elevator and had not heard the previous conversation, passed the salarian, giving him a puzzled look before heading down the ramp to meet the hinu. "Good evening Captain," she greeted warmly, the progress made on the Normandy having softened her mood from their last interaction. "I take it you're our escort."

"Yes, I have that honour. Is your group ready," she asked, gesturing to the crew descending the ramp.

"Yes, everyone is here." No one mentioned that Jack was not present. The biotic had refused the invite, replying with too many swear words and an obscene gesture that had cancelled her invite faster than a krogan chugged ryncol. And speaking of Krogan, Grunt, who they thought would stay behind, instead would come along, wearing his armor proudly. Tali was not a very religious quarian, but still, she silently begged her ancestors that the tempestuous Krogan would behave himself for the next few hours.

Yulili nodded and gestured for the vehicle behind them. It was a series of open-air cars, seating twelve each, all connected together in a train several long, more than enough room for the Normandy crew and the Commonwealth officers. Once all were aboard, the train lifted up, levitating a few feet off the ground before taking off, slowly at first, but then accelerating to a brisk speed. They left the docks, entering a long corridor that led away from the shipboard industrial facilities and into the crew section. Tali ooed and awed at the sights of shops and buildings. It reminded her of a much smaller, more compact citadel in a way, with all the various species going about their evening business. The quarian sighed. Everything passed by in a blur, while Tali wanted to explore each spot slowly and methodically.

Their ride was soon over as they passed into a section of the Anetham that looked more like administration, the train pulling into a rather fine building, which it then parked, landing on the ground. Before the group stood more guards, wearing heavier armour than the guards that had travelled with them. One of them, talrani judging by his size and the horns coming out from his helm, approached.

"Commander Shepard and party," he asked, his voice in a low rumble from the speakers of his helmet.

"Yes, that's us," Jane replied.

The guard took out a datapad. "Please put your hand on this scanner."

Shepard smiled and did so, the device scanning her hand and confirming her identity. The guard did this to each member of the group. When he came to Tali, he said, "Please state your full name." To which the quarian did so in a clear voice. The scanner approved her and the guard continued down the line till everyone was registered. Tali found it very nice that they had thought ahead for her, given that she couldn't give a hand scan due to her suit. "Thank you for your cooperation." He said to them all. "We take security very seriously, especially when the King is involved."

"We completely understand," Shepard replied.

They were all brought deeper into the building and up into a large lift. In what seemed to be a blink of an eye they reached their destination, with the doors opening into a large, well-furnished room. Several long rectangular tables were set up with comfortable chairs by them, though few of the occupants in the room were seated. Various well dressed aliens milled about, including a few tobor, who had on those cloaks that they seemed so fond of wearing, though these were clearly of a fancier make. All turned to see the newcomer's arrival, and the low rumble of conversation grew into a more noticeable buzz of excitement as Shepard and her group entered the room.

Some were gesturing to Garrus, perhaps curious about the turian. Tali rolled her eyes when she saw Garrus' mandibles flutter, no doubt preening under all the attention. Others were staring at Grunt, as since the krogan hadn't gone to the first meeting aboard the Beselador, nor had left his spot in the storage bay on the engineering deck, none of the species of the Commonwealth had really known of his existence and his large hulking form caused many of the talrani to gaze at the young krogan with interest. The same could be said for Samara, the asari drawing onlookers who had never seen her before, though most seemed to blush once they caught sight of her outfit rather than stare. Tali received her fair share of whispers and looks as well, though when most saw her and caught her eyes, they gave her encouraging smiles. It was strange for the quarian to have such kind looks shown her way.

They were left to mingle on their own a bit, some of the crew going and braving it alone, but most went around in groups two or more strong. None of the aliens present from what Tali could tell were pushing the newcomers for conversation, seemingly content to wait and let them make the first move. Tali found herself leaning on one of the several columns that sat around the edges of the room, trying to not be too noticeable before someone tapped on her shoulder.

"Feeling nervous," asked a voice from behind Tali.

The quarian whirled around, hand going to where her shotgun would be only to mentally curse when she remembered she didn't have it. Her annoyance lessened when she caught sight of who had spoken.

"Lance," she exclaimed. The avani gave the quarian smile and a small bow.

"Miss Zorah," he replied in greeting. The avani Corporal was wearing a very fine looking officer's uniform, the deep blues contrasting nicely with his russet fur. "I hope you're not finding the wait too boring. All these important people watching you, trying to understand someone from a foreign land. One could drown in the apprehension that might cause," he added with a chuckle.

The quarian shrugged. "I'm used to having people stare at me. Quarians tend to not have a good reputation in our part of the galaxy, so people tend to view us under an unkind and distrustful eye. Though, these people don't seem to be watching me with the same gaze, as if they're just waiting for me to do something wrong. They seem to just be genuinely curious about me. Its something I'm not really used to."

Lance nodded, giving the quarian a small grin. "A few bad fruits spoiled the bunch eh?"

The quarian gave a small sigh. "Pretty much. Since we can't land on a planet or set up colonies, we've had to scavenge for most of our ships and materials for repairs, and objects to sell or trade. A common insult is to call quarians 'suit rats'. No doubt a few less scrupulous quarians did a few less than legal practices and got caught. With our reputation in the galaxy already rock bottom due to our creating the geth, it didn't take much for it to sink deeper into the mud."

"Sad how just a few can ruin the image of so many," Lance mused aloud. He took a sip of a drink he had in hand, thinking about what was said. "Yet I've seen you working with your Ais, the Geth, as you called them."

"Legion? Well, he's more or less a special case. Believe me, I wanted to cut him up into little pieces when I first found out Shepard brought him on board. We had a few run-ins and instances that could've gotten ugly, but after a while, we got used to each other. I'd probably consider him a friend really. He helped us destroy the Collectors, and helped save all our lives."

"Perhaps one day peace could be made between the Quarians and the Geth," voiced Lance, glancing over to where said geth could be found standing among a group of Tobor, the machine races seemingly talking to each other in the way that machines do.

"A pipe dream," stated Tali, crossing her arms. She followed the avani's gaze and sighed, "But a good dream. It'd probably take decades to get us talking. At least on the Quarian side. Legion says that most of the other Geth would like peace."

"Sometimes all it takes is at least one willing side to make peace," Lance said. Tali mulled that over in her mind, thinking about that word. Peace. She could see it if she imagined enough. The quarian people were tired of being exiles, and they wanted to go home. Tali knew some of the fleet hated the geth, for good reason, and would want only war till the last geth was destroyed. But she also knew that some quarians would be happy and willing to make peace with the geth, if only to remove that threat from the board at least. Could they really make a lasting peace with the geth though? Would the geth even let them go back home to Rannoch? Perhaps Tali needed to talk with Legion about this topic more.

There was a small commotion from the back of the room and a group of heavily armoured and armed soldiers entered. All of them were avani, their strange armour a clean white colour with green stripes running down their arms and legs, carrying a type of gun she had never seen before. Each one was also armed with what appeared to be a sword at their hips, no doubt more of those plasma bladed weapons she'd seen around, and each one's chest plate had an elaborate star sigil embossed on them. What really caught Tali's eye though was their size; all of them were just as big as a Krogan in terms of height!

"Ah, it seems the meeting will be starting soon," Lance said with a grin, standing straight. "You best find your Commander, Tali'Zorah. The King has arrived." He gave Tali a small bow in goodbye before vanishing into the crowd of politicians, who had started to quiet down and face the incoming group.

Tali could just barely see someone in the middle of the group before she hurried through the crowd to find Shepard. It didn't take her long, only to find to her surprise that the armed men who had entered the room were making their way towards the commander. For a moment, she believed that they had been betrayed and that these guards were here to arrest everyone from the Normandy, but common sense soon prevailed and she calmed herself. The Commonwealth wouldn't have gone through so much effort to help them out, only to suddenly turn on them. When the group stood in front of Shepard, who by now had also been joined by Miranda, Garrus and a few others Tali knew from the crew, they parted, revealing an avani that had been the person Tali had spotted earlier.

The quarian quickly became puzzled. '_Wasn't this person supposed to be a king_', she asked herself as she took in the alien before her, "_Because I'm fairly certain that this king is a female_."

The auburn-fur-coloured avani standing before them was definitely not male in gender, Tali was certain of it as she had seen female Avani before. In the galaxy, it was fairly easy to tell the gender of most of the races. The avani seemed to be little different in this regard, though while this female avani standing before them was not as tall as her armed protectors, she was the same height as any of the other male avani Tali had seen. In fact, Tali may have mistaken the avani for a male, had it not been for the long braided head-fur, slim figure and more female assets that were visible. Her muzzle was also slightly shorter. The female avani's outfit was ornate, but not gaudily so, appearing to be a military uniform of sorts, though much more elaborate than any Tali had seen. It was form fitting, but not to the point of being obscene, rather it was practical in design. The main outfit seemed to be made of white fabric, while a rich deep green vest covered her torso. A silver-grey sash hung over her shoulder, and ran across her chest before looping around her back. And her eyes were of a beautiful magenta that seemed to shine with amusement as the avani looked over her guests. Any guesses about the avani's identity were silenced when she spoke, the room dead quiet to allow her voice to be heard.

"Commander Jane Shepard, I am pleased to meet you," a kind, melodious voice spoke, the avani smiling warmly at the group. Those eyes seemed to drink in the appearance of each of the Normandy's crew that were present before her.. When those eyes landed on Tali, the quarian couldn't help but squirm and want to wring her hands nervously. But the lady avani merely gave Tali a gentle smile and finished her inspection of her guests. "I am Valkyrah den Adasga, fourth of the name, King of the Commonwealth, of Avani, Talrani and Hinu, Guardian of the Tobor and Protector of the Realm. I bid you the most heartfelt of welcomes and deepest thanks for joining us all here this evening"

Shepard gave a polite bow to the alien monarch. "We are most grateful for your nation's help your Grace. Without it, we would've been stranded in space with little hope of rescue. With the assistance of your engineers and crews, the Normandy will no doubt be in better shape than ever before," she replied. She straightened up and look of embarrassed apprehension leaked into her expression. "Forgive me your grace, but when we were told we were meeting a King, we expected... Well.."

Valkyrah did not seem offended by this line of enquiry. "Someone more masculine no doubt," she tittered. At the commanders blush, the monarch smiled brightly. "You're not the first alien to make that error Commander. In the old avani language, there is no word to distinguish between male and female original title, simply known as 'ruler', is gender-neutral when taken literally. When translated outside the Avani tongue however, it is rendered as 'King', mostly due to the gender assumptions on the part of the translator. I do accept 'milady', 'your grace' or 'ma'am' as suitable words to address me by as well, so feel free to do so."

"I see. I appreciate the explanation ma'am," Shepard said when the monarch was done.

The avani clapped her hands together, seemingly pleased to have gotten that out of the way. "Now then. With introductions out of the way, we should quickly get started on our meeting. The people around you now Commander Shepard are all important officials, ministers, governors, scientists, admirals and generals of my government, and all are interested in what you have to say. What say you? Shall we begin?"

Shepard nodded, her serious Commander face coming into play. "Yes. Let's"

* * *

Valkyrah, though she preferred the name Val by her close friends, continued to display her diplomatic smile as Shepard and her officers took their seats at the main table, across from her and her own closest council. The lesser members of the Commander's crew had been sat at their own table towards the back of the room. Above each table, a display came up, broadcasting sound and video of the monarch's and commander's conversation, so that everyone could hear. The avani ruler's eyes took another look at each of the aliens across from her. The humans who seemed to make up the Majority of Shepard's crew, the Turian Gunnery officer, the drell assassin, asari justicar (now didn't that sound quite like one of the ancient knightly orders!), salarian doctor, the large, hulking krogan down at the end of the table, the artificial life form, a geth if she recalled correctly, watching them all, no doubt recording everything. And lastly, the quarian girl. Valkyrah had seen how nervous the quarian had been when she had first approached the group. Seated between the Turian and the Geth platform, she looked less apprehensive.

"I believe that congratulations of sorts are in order Commander," the monarch began, her voice jovial yet firm. "You and your crew went up against an overwhelming and cruel opponent and won, silencing an evil alien race for good. We have never met these collectors. Our FTL technology is not reliant on the Keys, so perhaps that's why we never met." Her tone grew serious, firm like stone to get the serious nature of her words across. "Else we'd have blown them to space-dust long ago! A race such as the Collectors has no place in a civilized galaxy."

"It was a hard fight ma'am, but we pulled through. I only wish we had gotten there sooner to save the colonists," Shepard said morosely.

Valkyrah nodded. "Your grief does you credit commander. But the ones who have committed atrocities against your race are now gone, snuffed out by your hand. Take comfort in knowing that Justice has been done," she said, trying to encourage the human.

Various sounds of approval and encouragement came from her officials and some of the aliens as well.

"Now though, tell us about the enemy we face Commander. These Reapers." the alien ruler said, wanting to get to business.

Shepard nodded, gesturing to her raven-haired colleague, Miranda was her name, to take over. She did so, tapping on her wrist-tool's orange interface. An image appeared, a giant monstrosity of a being, causing more than a few gasps from the crowd of dignitaries. Val frowned, already sensing that this was a true monster made real. Already her mind began to think of how she could protect her people from this threat.

"This is a Reaper," Miranda explained, "Specifically one known as Sovereign. It was two kilometres long, capable of taking out just about any of our ship's barriers with a single shot. It uses some sort of energy-based weapon that we had little defence against. From what we understand, every fifty thousand years the Reapers come to wipe out and harvest all advanced species in the galaxy. A little under three years ago, Sovereign tried to use the Citadel as a doorway for the rest of the Reapers, but we were able to destroy it at a heavy cost." The image changed to a grotesque construct of rock and metal. "A while after that, the Collectors began to operate. At first, it was small scale abductions, but it soon grew into entire human colonies vanishing without a trace. Nearly two years passed with no action taken, until Cerberus stepped in, giving Commander Shepard needed resources to strike back against the collectors, until we managed to find our way into the Galactic core, where their base was located, and destroyed it."

"Pardon the interruption Officer Lawson," an older avani male with greying fur spoke up suddenly. "I am Aldrig den Qen, Minister of War for the Commonwealth. Where was your government in all this? Why did they not intervene? According to what you have shared with us, this Cerberus is a terrorist organization, guilty of several crimes against sapient life itself."

The operative appeared a bit irked at the blunt words of the minister, but soon recovered. Typing out on her wrist-tool once more, the image changed to that of the entire galaxy, with various sections coloured in, denoting different political entities. Val was amused to find that the system they were in currently was coloured green, a small speck of green in an area surrounded by yellow. If only they knew.

"The colonists and humans abducted were all located in these areas, marked as the Terminus Systems," The red areas was highlighted. "A rather lawless section of the galaxy, and the Attican Traverse," The yellow area was lit up. "A somewhat disputed part of the galaxy. Neither the Systems Alliance, the political entity representing humanity in the galaxy, or the Citadel Council, the largest known government in the Galaxy, have much of a presence in those parts. The settlers of the colonies came out to the Terminus and the Traverse to get away from the Alliance's regulations, and as such, when the colonies went missing, little to nothing was done."

Various grumbles of outrage echoed around the room. Val's Minister of Laws, a Talrani named Vaxoma Raxeg, slammed her fist on the table. "Outrageous," she bellowed, clearly angry, "They were your people, and yet they did nothing? What about this Council of yours?"

"They also refused to help, citing that any action on their part could provoke the Terminus into a long and costly war," explained the black-haired human.

"A convenient excuse," grumbled Raxeg, finding that reasoning to be quite inexcusable.

"They knew the risks when they went out and settled in the Terminus, was the council's words," said Shepard, clearly bitter about it. "The dismissed the Collectors as a myth."

Valkyrah was also upset about this information, though she outwardly portrayed a neutral appearance. Still, she grasped a clear truth in the information given.

"If they disregarded the threat of the Collectors," the monarch said slowly, "Then the Reapers.."

Shepard nodded. "They refused to believe that they existed as well. Sovereign, the Reaper that attacked the Citadel? Despite evidence to the contrary, they covered everything up, saying that it wasn't a Reaper, but a giant Geth ship. They refused to believe that the Reapers exist, and that they are coming."

"It is a government's duty to protect their citizens from any threat, perceived or otherwise," Val said, quite sternly. "If this Council refused to move against a possible threat, then they are irresponsible at best and neglectful to their people's security and survival at worst."

"Which is why we find it so startling that you do believe us your grace," Miranda said, sitting up straight in her chair. "So very few believe us about the Reapers, those who are in a position to do something about it even less."

The monarch nodded. "It does seem strange, doesn't it. The ruler of an entire nation listening to the warnings of a stranger, warnings that would seem like the ravings of a madman or a doomsayer to any sane person," she replied with a small amount of mirth.

The aliens across from her nodded slightly in agreement, showing that they had had those very same thoughts or experiences before. "_How infuriating it must be, to know the truth of danger that comes, yet be only ignored,_" Val thought.

"Well, yes," Shepard replied bluntly.

"We are not like most nations here though," Val replied, her voice ringing out strongly. "The Commonwealth has seen many things in its lifetime. Things that we never thought could ever possibly exist yet did indeed not only exist, but thrived! Galactic Horrors and Wonders. Ancient Societies long forgotten to the mists of time. And dangers that are ever present to this day. Our minds are not closed to the possibility that death awaits its chance with every star discovered, every new race discovered or technology brought to existence."

"The Commonwealth has fought off Ether Drakes." The image displayed changed to that of a massive creature, one that made the alien guests' eyes widen in shock at the giant space dragon. "Giant Scavenger robots." A new image was added, of a colossal machine that looked like a giant metal eyeball in a massive field of space debris. "Stellarite Devourers" A spider-like creature was shown, seemingly drawing parts of a star into itself. "Spectral Wraiths." A shimmering jelly-fish like beast was displayed in front of a pulsar star. "And even Dimensional Horrors." An image of a gigantic, bizarre eel-like creature with many legs, seemingly half in-space with its other half gone in a swirling maelstrom in space, was shown alongside the others. Each one brought looks of amazement, shock and even fear to the faces of the aliens across from Valkyrah

"We are no strangers to the monsters that lurk in the dark Commander," the alien monarch stated. "The Reapers are just another one of many."

"Impossible," declared the salarian, sounding close to hysterics as he looked over the displayed space monsters and the details that had been displayed next to each on, eyes bulging., "No evidence has ever been found of such creatures ever existing! Such gigantic lifeforms couldn't possibly survive in deep space! No records of any sort!"

"Maybe that is true here in this galaxy," Val's Prime Minister of Parliament, an avani by the name of Coldrates den Gath, stated cooly. "The Reapers would have seen to their extinction long before your people's time Doctor Solus, if the information of your Galaxy's past is to be believed."

"Indeed. The Reapers could arguably be the reason why this galaxy seems to be so empty of ancient alien life and so many worlds empty. We've only found scarce ruins in our space, while before we couldn't go a system without finding something of interest," mused Valkyrah aloud.

"Don't mean to be rude," said Shepard, interrupting the musings of the avani ruler. "But you've said 'this galaxy' twice now. I'm not certain if this is a translation error or a cultural thing, but it's really puzzling me."

Val blinked. "It is no translation error Commander. We have nothing to gain by misleading you. What we've said is correct."

"Oh," the commander stated simply, followed by a much quieter 'oh' as her face and those of her group seemed to Express disbelief and shock. The salarian, in particular, looked fairly pale, his mouth quite slack-jawed.

The monarch smiled. She loved seeing those sort of looks on peoples faces. It was quite amusing.

"We are the Commonwealth," Val said, standing up. The images displayed all went away, only to be replaced by a picture of the Milky Way galaxy side by side another picture of a much different galaxy, one with eight arms that spun out from its galactic core. The avani gave a fox-like grin from the aliens. "And we are far from home."

* * *

**Authors Note; And BAM! Yes, part of the Commonwealth's secrets have been revealed. They are not native to the galaxy that we all know and love, (note, they are not from Andromeda either. I refuse to touch _that place_ even with a ten-foot pole), but are from an entirely new and different galaxy already. I thought it would be a clever way to show how they are so advanced and clearly do not use Mass Effect tech, despite being in a galaxy littered with the stuff, and why they would believe in the threat by the Reapers. Stellaris is full of stuff that wants to kill you, things that if real would be ultimate nightmare fuel. Why not add giant space robots that want to exterminate everything to the already full bag. Oh wait, those exist in Stellaris too. Hah. **

**But that brings up some questions. What is the Commonwealth doing in the ME galaxy? How long have they been there? How have they remained hidden for so long? All these and more will be answered soon in upcoming chapters. **

**As always, thanks for reading. Your reviews give me strength, so please leave one if you feel like it. I also appreciate any help with improving my writing skills, and I look forward to the suggestions and ideas you readers may have. If extra clarification or glaring errors that I've somehow missed are needed, drop me a line, and I'll try to get to them quickly. Have a good one y'all.**

**Notes 2.0: Just thought I should put this here in case some people were confused about some of the appearances of the Races and ships and whatnot. **

**1\. If you're curious about the Species appearances, I'd recommend you go to the Stellaris Paradox Wiki, look under Species and look for the following; A) Avani - Mammalian, Slender #3 B) Talrani - Reptilian, Normal #10 C) Hinu - ****Molluscoid, Massive #13 D) The Tobor - Machine, designated Humanoid. (Note, I use the fox dimorphism mod for Stellaris, which adds slightly changed appearances for male and female characters)**

**2\. Ship Design uses the Mammalian Style for all spacecraft and stations. **

**3\. The Anetham's design is based on the UTOPIA DLC cover art, which displays several large construction platforms in front of a Dyson Sphere. I've taken some creative liberties with them and have turned them into giant work ships. (bonus for making it this far. Those ships are the only ones equipped to drag the Mass Relays off into the nearest stars for disposal, hence why the Anetham was already enroute to the system Shepard and Co had arrived in) **

**I hope that helps some people visualize the races and ships and whatnot better. Thank you**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: _Tips his cap to you all_**

**Hello hello, all you readers. Welcome to this installation of the story. Its almost Council time, but to put in everything I wanted to and then throw in the actual Council talking and idiocy happening it kinda ran a little long. Not to mention it'd be murder on my hands. So all that Council stuff will be happening in the following Chapter. **

**Thanks for the reviews my good folk. Please keep your patience with me. A lot of questions will be answered in the next chapter. (Hopefully, I'll remember to put them all in). Regardless, I hope you enjoy Chapter 5!**

* * *

From the elevated walkways that were scattered around the Anetham's ship bay, Jane watched as the finishing touches were installed and put into place on the Normandy. An entirely new set ship armour and shields had been installed, of a quality passing anything the human had access to from either the asari or Cerberus, though she had been informed that it was of a lesser quality than that used on most Commonwealth military vessels. It was a necessary course of action; the Commonwealth didn't use the same sort of technology the rest of the Galaxy used, and to try and replicate the processes used would have taken far too long when the needed materials were already on board the Anetham. As for the installed equipment's lesser quality, the engineers had apologized, which Shepard found amusing, citing that some things had to remain secret, even from newfound friends. Jane didn't mind it much, rather she appreciated the honesty shown by the Commonwealth. Not to mention that all that ugly Cerberus colouring and decor had been torn away, spaced into the nearby star at her request, and replaced by a more Alliance friendly theme. That was a win in her "Good Guy" book.

The commander sipped at her cup of xafo, the Commonwealth's version of Earth's coffee. It had a strange, almost citrusy flavour alongside the more recognizable bitter caffeine taste. It wasn't likely to become Shepard's first choice of hot drink, but it would do. She and her crew had already exhausted their own stores of caffeine following the meeting with Valkyrah over a couple of weeks ago. Chakwas had ordered poor Mordin Solus restricted to the med-bay after the ever hyper-energetic salarian had somehow gotten his hands on a pot of coffee, and then proceeded to drink five more before he was caught and sedated. Twice.

Thinking about the meeting made Shepard's mood turn slightly. She had been given much information during that meeting, enough to write an entire book series on the Commonwealth and their colourful and amazing history. So much in fact, that Jane found herself feeling unnerved by it all. It was information and facts all freely given, as if its knowledge was inconsequential to be known, though Shepard was asked to at least wait until the Commonwealth met with the Council first before sharing it.

Still, it mattered little she thought. After nearly two months of being stranded outside known space after heading through the Omega-Four Relay, they were going back to Citadel space, even getting a ride straight back to the Citadel! Shepard would admit to herself that she was more than a tad worried about the Council's reaction to the sudden appearance of an entire fleet outside the Citadel's doors, and had relayed those concerns to the avani monarch. Valkyrah merely nodded, saying that she would prefer it a different way herself, but time was of the essence and little bit of 'shock and awe' might help turn diplomacy's over-rusted gears fast enough for something to get done. The human begrudgingly agreed that such a course of action might actually be needed to kick the Council's butt into action.

"It's a little early in the morning to be brooding is it not," asked a voice that Shepard had become very familiar with over a series of conferences and meetings the past weeks. The commander stood straight up, casually turning to face the pleasant alien ruler while she took another sip of her xafo. Val had insisted that formality needed to only be shown in official meetings, while she preferred informal settings to be more relaxed.

"King Valkyrah," she greeted with a tip of her head. "Good morning to you. And you too boys," she added to the monarchs ever silent armored protectors. Regarding the earlier question, she replied with a chuckle, "I find I do my best thinking in the hours before everyone comes to me whining about their problems."

Escorted by two of her royal guards, Valkyrah looked regal as ever, even despite the early hours of the morning. Wearing a fine, silver-coloured long-sleeved shirt, dark suit pants and a white, star patterned cape over her one shoulder, the monarch looked ready to do diplomatic battle with the Council all day long.

"I find the early hours to be the ones which I can find what peace I can," the avani said with a nod of her head, turning to watch the early work crews finishing their job site cleanup. "She is a beautiful ship. I am happy my people could play a small role in her restoration Commander."

"I'd say that you had more than a 'small' role in repairs your grace," Jane replied with a small grin, finishing up her beverage with one last sip. "So, what can this lowly ship captain do for you this morning," she asked, humour in her voice.

Val suddenly looked nervous about something, which immediately tripped Shepard's alarm and put her into alert mode. The human stood up straight, prepared for the news that something terrible might have happened.

"Commander Shepard," the avani began, sounding quite serious. "I'd like for my son to join your crew."

Jane's eyes widened in surprise, caught very much off guard by the proposal. "Your son your grace? Are you sure? Why would you want that?"

Grasping the railing before her, the avani monarch looked out sadly across the docking bay. "I fear for my people Shepard. Before your arrival, the dangers we had to look out for were simple and known. The occasional asteroid, the criminal element, etcetera. Your arrival changes much, quite like how the arrival of our ancient enemy and our arrival in this galaxy changed many things about our people. Now we not only have to dust off our foreign diplomatic skills, but also retrain our fleets, pilots and warriors against the Reaper threat. Though," and here she smiled. "Being forewarned means being forearmed, to which we thank you for very deeply."

"That brings me to my point, and desire to see my son off on your ship. If we survive this coming war, the Commonwealth is going to need a new generation of leaders. Starting from the top. When I die, my son will inherit the reigns of power in the Commonwealth, but he has only ever been raised to worry about the Commonwealth, not the nations that are around us. With the veil of ignorance lifted, I worry that he may be ill-equipped to handle this newly grown galaxy. Which is where you come in."

"Me," said Shepard skeptically.

"Yes, you. I believe that under your direction, my son can and will grow exponentially as a person. By exposing him to the galaxy and all its cultures and problems, he will hopefully learn many lessons about the various peoples he will have to co-exist with when he is King. My son is good-natured, but a bit naive and sometimes lacks the backbone to make difficult decisions. And while he is skilled in martial combat, he needs to see how the people of the galaxy fight and fight alongside them."

"Say that he did come aboard, he isn't going to be one of those snobbish, demanding princely types is he," Shepard asked, her expression clearly showing that she wouldn't accept someone like that on board her ship.

Val shook her head, laughing softly. "No, by the stars no, he is not like that. He's kind and humble, a diligent worker. He's gone through the same training from the bottom up as any recruit would go through, even using a fake name in order to get around his princely status and be treated as any other citizen."

Shepard raised a brow, intrigued by that information. Mulling the proposal over in her head, she shrugged. "I'll have to think about it and discuss it with my crew," she finally said.

"That is fair, and all I'll insist you do for now," Valkyrah replied with a smile, not sounding offended at all.

Changing topics, Jane asked, "So we're leaving today then?"

"Yes. With the coordinates you've supplied to us, it should only take a few hours to get to your Citadel. We leave after the disposal of this systems relay," the avani monarch said.

Now that had been one of the biggest surprises for the Normandy crew to learn about. The Commonwealth's disposal of any Mass Relays by tossing them into their system's stars. Shepard could understand why they would wish to do so, allowing a possible enemy uncontrolled access to one's territory was never a good idea. But at the same time, the soldier in Shepard saw the opposite; It would be hard take action against the Commonwealth should they turn hostile without the relay network at hand. Never mind the difficulty conducting trade. It had been mentioned though that a few border systems would be allowed to keep their Relays to mitigate this issue, though where they would be wasn't mentioned. Shepard was unsure how the Commonwealth would enforce those borders, or how the Council would react to this policy. No doubt that would be discussed in the upcoming meeting between Valkyrah and the Council.

Still, Shepard was more than a little curious as to what a relay tossed into a star would look like.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," the commander said with a grin.

* * *

From the bridge of the Ninth Fleet's titan-class vessel Determination, Valkyrah watched idly as the Anetham approached the red-giant star. Despite the Commonwealth having disposed of dozens of these Relays, this would be the first one the avani monarch would see such an event in person. Same too for the Normandy and her crew, the vessel having departed the Anetham earlier that day, heading over to the Andora, a carrier-class battleship, the only ship in the Ninth fleet or nearby in general, who could handle the Normandy's size comfortably. Seeing as the Normandy would not be able to travel long distances without one of the Relays, it was decided that the Andora would transport the Normandy to the Citadel. The battleship had reported the landing of the Spectre's vessel had been a smooth one, and Val was certain that Shepard and her crew were watching the scene just as she was.

The Relay that had brought the Commonwealth and the rest of the galaxy together had long since deactivated since the Normandy's arrival. Now it was merely a silent relic, a monstrosity built by a genocidal machine race so very long ago. Its long vile vigil was now over, its life at an end as it was dragged by the powerful tractor beams on board the Anetham towards its demise. It was a slow, but steady process and soon, when the Anetham reached its designated position and halted its approach to the red-giant, the powerful device slingshotted the relay past the vessel and towards the star. Previously dispatched drones relayed video of the Relays fate; as it entered the range of the star, it began to glow as the metal started to heat up. Slowly, the colossal construct began to melt into slag that soon was burned away, curling in on itself as it was slowly crushed and burned by the stars gravity and heat. At last, what once was the Reaper's tool for control of the galaxy vanished into the red molten mass of the star.

"It is done," Val said, somewhat solemnly. "Let this be the first step of many in the war against the Reapers," she declared to the crew onboard the bridge. The captain of the Determination, a robust talrani standing at attention alongside the virtual representation of the Ninth Fleet's tobor Admiral, saluted their queen. "We make our way to the Citadel, to declare our existence to our newfound neighbours. Each of you, to your stations," she ordered, the crew quickly buzzing as the Determination, the Andora, and all the other vessels of the Ninth Fleet got into formation for long distance travel.

"All Ships, Prepare for Jump," the Tobor Admiral announced loudly.

Val turned to her personal wrist-tool, sending off the confirmation of several orders to her other fleets, armies, etc, all signed with her name and that of her Prime Minister. While she was busy with talks with this Council, the Commonwealth would not be idle in her absence.

"_And so it begins_,' she thought to herself as the space around the ships began to warp and bend as the FTL drives of the fleet began to activate.

And then the Anetham was left alone with the red-giant as the Ninth Fleet vanished into the void.

* * *

David Anderson watched as his staff carried out the last few boxes of his possessions from his office, his tenure as Councilor of Humanity over and done with, much to his relief. For close to three years he had fought to bring human issues, and that of the Reaper threat, to the Council's attention only to be shot down every time and ignored. And he was tired of all the political games, hidden words and false promises that seemed to infect every meeting. Let Udina deal with it, he'd decided, more than happy to let that annoying parasite of a man deal with the Council and their ilk.

Though Anderson had another reason for resigning; he was in what one might call a state of mourning. It had been two months since Commander Shepard's last transmission, a short message saying that she was going through the Omega-Four Relay, wishing for luck and that he'd see her soon. Now that all that time had passed without any communication, Anderson was resigned to the idea that Shepard would not be coming back. The loss was the final nail in the coffin of Anderson term as Councilor and he had handed in his resignation a week ago. Now, all that was left was to get his personal effects loaded onto a ship that was taking him back to Alliance Space.

The doors to what was once his office opened and Anderson's former advisor strolled into the room. Despite their animosity towards one another, David would begrudgingly agree that without Udina's advice during his term, he would have snapped and left long ago. Still, they barely said a word to one another, merely glaring as they passed each other and Anderson left Udina to his new office. Anderson could just feel the politician's smugness ooze through the doors even after they closed.

Making his way to the docks, desiring to get off the Citadel as soon as possible, Anderson found himself stopped just as he was reaching the presidium's edges by none other than a salarian he had come to know well during his time in office.

"Councillor Valern," he greeted the robed salarian, "Come to see me off?"

Despite his personal distaste for the Council and their many machinations, Anderson was on quite good terms with his former counterpart. Valern was cautious and a politician to the core, normally siding against Anderson when he had brought up issues, but personally, the salarian was fairly sympathetic to humanity and that of other races. The Councilor had even admitted to Anderson during a private meeting that he worried that the Salarian's were becoming somewhat marginalized between the turians and the asari, despite their technological prowess and long history on the council. And while they may not believe in the Reapers exactly, Valern did admit the Union believed that Sovereign was not of Geth design, which was a mark in David's good books.

"Glad to have caught you before you left Councilor Anderson," the amphibian alien replied. It seemed that the politician was agitated about something.

"I'm no longer a Councilor as of this morning Valern. Udina has that honour," the human said, sarcasm heavy on the word 'honour'.

"Hmph, as far as I'm concerned, you're a far better human to work with than that power-hungry fool Udina," Valern hissed, seeming to not like being reminded of who he would now be working with. "Regardless, have something to share with you. Just came in from STG report."

"The STG," questioned Anderson, "Are you sure you should be sharing this information with me?"

"Yes. The information is for you actually. Its a message pinged from one of the communication arrays in the Eagle Nebula. The signal was too weak to be relayed further, but the STG picked up on it. Here," the salarian said, handing over a datapad.

"A message.." David mused aloud, taking a look at the display. He almost dropped the pad when he realized who sent the message.

It read. "_Anderson, Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, but I got lost for a while and out of communications range. We're safe, the Collectors are destroyed. We lost the colonists though.._" The message then went into the details of what was found in the Collector base and their links to the Reapers. Anderson gripped the device so hard that his knuckles turned white. All those lives, human lives, lost to a horrifying process of turning them into a reaper. The message went on. "_We escaped the galactic core, but the relay sent us out into an unmarked system. With the Normandy damaged, it seemed we would've been stranded there, but we received help. There's another batch of aliens out here Anderson. They're called the Commonwealth, and they helped fix up the Normandy, gave us some upgrades too. They're made up of three races, plus one more that's going to be a shock to you guys, but I've been asked to let them make their own introductions, so I'm afraid I can't tell you anything more at this time. Just please, please DON'T SHOOT THEM! They're on their way to the Citadel right now, and will be there in a few hours at most. Their technology is something I've never seen before, and it scares me, but they're friendly, at least they've been to us during our stay. Please listen to what they have to say." _Added at the bottom was a note. "_They believe the Reapers exist."_

Anderson barely noticed the rest of the message, his mind spinning. The first thing he truly processed was that _Shepard was ALIVE_! The oppressive feeling of sadness that had clung around his person for weeks had suddenly lifted. He wanted to shout with joy over this revelation, though thankfully his self-preservation instinct saved his dignity before that could happen. Instead, he merely grinned broadly, very, very happy about this news. Then he the remainder of the message came to mind. Four new alien races? And they were coming here?!

The human looked up from the datapad, regarding Valern with a suddenly serious air. The salarian hadn't moved an inch since handing off the device to Anderson. "I take it that you have read the contents of this message," he asked, though he already knew the answer.

The salarian merely shrugged. "I may have taken a look or two." Valern then gave the human a stern look. "Are you certain that this is indeed from Shepard?"

David nodded, confirming that he was certain that the message was definitely from Shepard. The salarian councillor nodded. "I dislike this, and would be skeptical of it as well, but the same STG buoy that picked up Shepard's message also reported close to a hundred unknown energy signatures. Report from a Volus freighter that happened to be in the area also reported a large number of unknown ships appearing briefly, then disappearing. If Shepard is correct, then an unknown alien fleet is knocking on our doorstep." Valern looked tired all of sudden. "I just needed confirmation from you on the authenticity of this message. Thank you, Anderson. I'd recommend that you remain on the Citadel, in case you're needed further." Giving a nod of thanks, the salarian left Anderson, no doubt hurrying off to make plans for the upcoming arrival.

Anderson stood there, re-reading the message over and over again. Then he sighed, turning around and heading back into the presidium offices. His ship out of here could wait; Udina needed to hear about this right away.

* * *

_On board the Andora, in the middle of Hyperspace_

Garrus was staring at the rows upon rows of Commonwealth strike-craft that hung in the hanger bay, mandibles flaring as his eyes roved about, drinking in the details of the vehicle before him. No bigger than ten metres in length, it was a single-piloted machine, the craft built out of the same materials as the massive _three and a half-kilometre-long battleship_ he was on used, a blackish, shining metal that seemed to have a slightly shimmering quality to it. The cockpit cover was made of a glass-like material, something that was rather quite common in the galaxy. Or should it be said, both Garrus' and the Commonwealth's galaxies?

The two wings of the craft stretched outwards from the central structure that housed the cockpit, engine, thrusters and the shield generators, at least for the latter three that's what Garrus assumed the setup was like. On each of the wings hung two scaled down versions of the larger weapons he'd seen outside on the warships; a weapon called the Stormfire Cannon, an advanced rotary autocannon capable of spewing a cloud of high-explosive shells at a target, and the other weapon was a _freaking plasma cannon!_

Energy weapons on the ships, energy weapons for the infantry. No doubt energy weapons were also used for their mechanized infantry, tanks whatever the Commonwealth Military had on hand! The closest thing that the Hierarchy had to this technology was the Thanix cannon, and that was basically a glorified slug-thrower like the rest of the weapons all the other races had. Maybe the Geth could counter the Commonwealth, if the machines could be persuaded to do so. Seeing how outclassed the turian's, and the other races', fleets were wounded Garrus' turian pride. Though at the same time, he wanted to laugh at the image of the Council member's expressions at learning about the Commonwealth's technological superiority. Wouldn't that be a dagger to the heart of the Asari's pride.

"_Good luck getting these guys to join the Citadel Council,_" he thought to himself with a chuckle, grinning with mirth. Oh, how he wanted to be there during that meeting to watch the Council squirm.

Turning his gaze away from the beautiful craft, he turned his eyes over to where the Normandy was being held during its transport. Gone were the scars and wounds of battle the ship had gotten during their fight to survive in the galactic core. In its place, gleaming silver metal armour plates hung from its frame, all traces of Cerberus' influence gone from its hull. Alliance colours now ruled, the soft blues and whites replacing the overbearing oranges that were there being. Garrus felt that he would now be able to sleep more soundly at night.

He smirked smugly to himself. Especially since he'd gotten an upgrade from that cot in the forward battery he'd been using for the majority of the journey.

"Hey Garrus." The turian was brought out of his thoughts by the voice of his commander. Turning, he saw Shepard, Tali and Jacob standing a few yards behind him, the humans in their combat gear. Next to them was one of those mechanical AIs, a tobor. It was standing just behind the group, its frame a dark blue mixed with black white a white cloak hanging around its shoulder. "Apparently this ship has something called a 'Holo-Deck'. It's going to take a few hours yet to arrive at the Citadel. Want to check it out," the human asked.

Seeing no reason why not to join, Garrus gave the strike-craft one more look before heading over to the group. "Sure, I'll join in," he said, before glancing at the tobor behind the trio. "Who's the bot?"

Before Shepard could reply, the tobor spoke for itself. "This 'bot' as you call it, goes by the designation Argo, and would prefer if you called it as such," it replied rather sharply, stopping the turian in its tracks. "'Bots' are dumb little VI machines that you use to organize ones messages or to organize your calendar. Tobor are far, far more advanced than those pathetic creations."

"Uhm.." started the Turian, not quite sure how to respond. These tobor were so not like Legion. "Sorry…?" he offered.

"Satisfactory," it replied dismissively, before continuing on, becoming more official sounding as though nothing had happened. "I am Ensign Argo, and will be your escort around the Andora. Commander Shepard, Tali'Zorah and Officer Taylor expressed interest in seeing the holo-deck, and wished for you to join them. Now that you are here, we can make our way to our destination." It then abruptly turned and began walking off. When no one immediately made to follow, it stopped and glanced over its shoulder. "Follow me please," it said in a rather commanding tone before continuing on, Garrus and the others quickly catching up.

Leaning down to whisper in Shepard's ear, he said, "I feel like I'm back in boot-camp with some of my old superior officers." The turian grinned when Shepard let out a muffled laugh into the back of her hand. "So what prompted this desire to explore," he asked as they headed into a corridor just off from the hanger-bay. "And how did we wind up with the metal hardcase up there?"

"I overheard some pilots chatting about doing some training on the holo-deck, and when I asked about it, they told me about this massive series of rooms here where there are holograms you can interact with," she explained. "You can do training, combat, even flight simulations. Since we're gonna be stuck here for at least a couple more hours, I figured that maybe we could enjoy the facilities."

Garrus nodded in agreement. "It has been a while since we saw combat. It would be good to keep our skills up." He then glanced at their metally escort. "And the machine?"

To that, Shepard only shrugged. "About five minutes after I expressed an interest in checking out this holo-deck place, he showed up, saying he was to be our escort. Personally, I didn't see the need to argue. This ship is huge, and the last thing we need to have happen to us is getting lost."

It took a good ten minutes, even with the automated walkways that helped speed them along and having to go down a few decks, for the group soon reached their destination. Everywhere they went, avani, talrani and hinu navy personnel gave them curious looks, though briefly, and few outright stared at them, too polite to do so. When they entered what seemed to be a lobby-like waiting area though, the stares Garrus and his crewmates received were far more calculating, and hushed whispers broke out among the aliens in the room.

"This is the waiting area. The Andora is equipped with six holo-decks," Argo told them. "Since time is limited, I made sure to book a slot before our arrival. You will be provided models of various weapons that will act as live ones in the simulation. Do you have a preference for the scenario you'd like to use?" The tobor produced a datapad from its person, detailing the various programs and simulations the holo-deck offered.

While Shepard and Jacob looked over the list, Garrus's eyes wandered over the room. On one wall there were a series of displays, allowing spectators to watch what was going on in the active rooms. Tali was already watching one of the screens, seeming to skip from screen to screen, till she focused on one. Garrus walked up to her.

"Something catch your eye," he asked the quarian. Looking over her shoulder at the display in question, Garrus watched what seemed to be a combat program. Whatever device they were using to get the image produced a crisp clear picture of someone, probably an avani judging by their size, wearing some strange armour fighting against a group of enemies. The armour was of slim variety, not heavy or bulky in appearance, but sleek, swift and light looking, though going by what the Commonwealth had, maybe that what their heavy armour looked like.

It was of a white and green colour palette, with a black mesh undersuit underneath that Garrus could see, peeking out at the more flexible joints of the suit. The helmet covered the entire head, sweeping back in such a way that it looked like the avani's ears were folded back, and two eye sockets glowed from the helm. The way the avani moved, taking down his opponents who disassembled into digital pixels when dead, it was clear that whoever it was inside it was clearly trained and the suit did not inhibit them in any way that the turian could see. When the fighter jumped off some procedurally generated debris, Garrus could see that the legs of the suit were bent in such a way that they looked like a turians or a quarians legs, ending in some sort of mechanical apparatus shaped like a foot that helped launch the wearer around, outflanking his opponents. On the back of the suit, there were small thrusters that helped to boost any maneuvers by adding on extra speed. The user seemed to favour using an energy pistol of sorts, the device fitting comfortingly in their hand as it shot off bolt after bolt of energy at its target, the white plasma or laser, whatever it was, taking them down. When up close, the fighter used one of those plasma knives that seemed to be common equipment for the Commonwealth military, activating its hot plasma coated edge to wreak havoc in the enemy ranks.

"He's good," the turian commented as the fighter mopped up the remnants of the generated enemies. "Wonder what he could do in a real fight.."

"I don't know. But the way he fights is so strange," Tali said, arms crossed in thought. "He uses his weapon to great effect, but then closes in to use that knife of his. That's suicidal!"

"Not necessarily," Jacob said, the human having watched the match from afar. "Those shields his armour has are insanely strong. Add in that armour's speed boosting, and closing in on enemies to deal a quick deathblow is easy. When you rely solely on a gun for defence, your close combat ability suffers. He seems to be trained to exploit that weak point. And let's not forget his handiness with a gun. Of the shots I saw, over eight were the head or neck shots."

"Do you think their military is all like that," asked the quarian, watching as the simulation seemed to end and the fighter seemed to head towards the exit.

"Hard to say," Jacob said, scratching the back of his head as the trio turned around to head back to where Shepard was. "Perhaps he's from a special unit? I'd love to get a look at that armour and these guys' weapons. Even just a glimpse could help forward our tech by years, especially since these guys don't use eezo."

"Better hope that the Council doesn't screw up when they meet together then," the turian said with traces of sarcasm.

"Hey, guys. I found a scenario we all might like. Drelenian slaver ring," Shepard said, sounding fairly energetic. "No idea what a drelenian is, but they're slavers. Does taking out a few batarian wannabees sound good?"

They all nodded, Taylor seeming very eager to take care of some pirates, digital or otherwise, and headed in. Tali lingered for a moment as the doors to the room of the fighter she had been watching opened and the armoured avani stepped out.

"Tali, you coming," Garrus called back from the prep area inside the room.

The quarian glanced towards the human, then back to the avani, who was oddly staring back, before turning and following them all in. "Yes, Shepard. Right behind you."

* * *

The armoured avani watched as the quarian entered the holo-deck, watching through his suits eye-lenses until the doors to the room shut, hiding her from his sight. Walking over to what was dubbed the 'Watcher's Wall', the avani turned his attention to the screen displaying the foreigner's upcoming match.

"Sir," his suits AI chimed in, "Aren't you going to go in for another match? You normally go for at least five rounds and yet you've only done two so far this day."

Briefly double checking to make sure his suit's external speakers were not active so as to not overheard by those around him, a rather embarrassing situation if there was one, the avani replied lazily, " No, I wish to watch these aliens' combat performance."

The field started up, generating stacks of crates as opportunist cover, the quartet of aliens entering in the room. The first time anyone uses a holo-deck the first instinct was awe, and they didn't disappoint, the human's facial expressions quite comical, the dark one's jaw dropped in shock, while the one sporting the red-headfur, 'hair' humans called it he reminded himself, also appeared to be surprised, but also showed a gleaming eagerness. The avian looking fellow was looking around, touching some of the generated objects, no doubt expecting to have his hand pass through it, only to meet something solid and reel back with surprise. And the quarian's arm was aglow with the holographic display of the alien's style of wrist-tool, no doubt scanning everything the clever girl.

As the enemies started to arrange themselves into position, the avani activated his suit's recorder. "Korinth," he said to his suit's AI, "Can you get me some audio?"

A moment later, a hint of static was replaced by the sound of the human Commander barking out orders. The avani followed with interest as the match began, the Normandy's squad going to cover as the digital enemy opened fire. There was little to fear with regards to lasting harm in the holo-deck. Enemy fire would only register if hit as a quick sharp pain if weapon fire hit, at worst leaving the user sore. No doubt it had all been explained before their entering the room. As he had suspected, the aliens were not accustomed to firing Commonwealth weaponry, the first few opening shots perhaps not quite hitting their marks.

What surprised the avani was their adaptability, as soon, after a few more testing shots, soon they began hitting their targets with ease. The turian, in particular, seemed to be a crack shot, taking down his targets with precise headshots. That visor he was wearing, did it help with his aiming? The quarian had a drone of some kind, wreaking havoc in the enemy camp, with those stumbling out falling to her pistol fire. And then the dark-skinned human… began to glow!?

Ignoring the sudden exclamations of surprise from those also watching the screen (it seemed everyone in the room had wanted to see what the new aliens could do), the armoured avani watched intently as the glowing human somehow_ lifted _his opponents into the air, followed up by the commander shooting helpless enemies with precise marksmanship. The AI running the simulation must've been working overtime computing such a bizarre ability in order to keep up the program.

Was it some sort of psionic ability? Every known race had a few latent psionics among their populace, the hinu especially, though few if any displayed any sort of power such as what the avani had just seen. Could it be that psionics were more common in this galaxy? Was that purple glow part of their abilities as well?

As the match progressed with the Normandy squad turning the battleground into a killing field, tearing the digital enemies apart with ease, the armoured avani grew ever more ponderous and impressed. He smiled beneath his helmet, watching as the tight-knit group seemingly having fun, quips and shouts that caused laughter among their ranks echoing around the holo-deck. Such a sense of close comradery almost made the avani rather envious, and as the match ended, he found himself wanting to see more.

But he had tasks he needed to get accomplished before too long, and so turned and left, leaving the gossiping crew behind him as he walked out into the corridor and headed off towards his quarters.

"_Commander Shepard…_," he mused to himself, getting onto an elevator and proceeding upwards. "_So you're the one my mother wishes to teach me about this galaxy… I approve._" Anyone who could take a group of various aliens and turn them into the kind of squad he'd just seen was someone who he'd strive to learn from.

A notification suddenly appeared on the inner HUD of his helmet display. He glanced it over, feeling the ever slight shudder as the Andora left the realms of hyperspace. "Ah. It seems we've arrived."

* * *

For the regular, everyday inhabitants of the Citadel, it had been an ordinary day of controlled chaos. Dignitaries, Merchants, Tourists and the ordinary citizen went about their lives with little concern for the problems around them. Criminals were brought in by Citadel Security (it could be argued somewhat effectively that C-Sec then released those criminals, sometimes at a rate exceeding that of the arrests themselves. And the ever glorious Council was buried under its own byzantine bureaucracy.

That sense of normality was shattered when space seemed to almost warp in on itself less than three hundred kilometres away from the Citadel. Before most citizen's eyes that had noticed the anomaly could even begin to process what it was they were seeing, they were shocked to see that a large fleet of vessels had appeared, and panic and fear began to spread like wildfire throughout the wards. The Citadel Fleet reacted swiftly, sending its two dreadnaughts, out behind the Destiny Ascension, along with a good chunk of the defensive fleet with it, leaving a token force to stand guard.

The commanding officers aboard the ships were, for the most part, unnerved by what they saw. There were at least a hundred vessels in this unknown fleet, and they weren't of any recognizable design. And the size of them! The smallest of these ships were larger than a standard frigate, the biggest dwarfed even dreadnoughts in the Defence Fleet! And all the ships were heavily armed. The largest of them had a gun that put the Destiny Ascension to shame! The thoughts that this could be a second Geth attack were on every captains' mind, but this unknown fleet just hung there where they had appeared, staying in formation and made no moves of any sort. Regardless, the captains weren't just going to open fire immediately, like the first encounter with Humanity had happened. But many had their hands ready to pull the trigger.

Inside the Presidium, what was the most peaceful and wealthiest section of the Citadel, two of the most powerful people in Citadel Space watched the approaching contact with no small amount of interest and a little fear. They too were caught off guard by the size of this bizarre encounter, and the scale of the ships involved. And the weapons that could be seen mounted on every single one of them.

"Do you think they're hostile?" Councilor Sparatus, the Turian representative, asked as he eyed this fleet through the display screen, giving a close-up view of the event unfolding. He was filled with anxiety and maybe even a hint of pride as stared out at the giant, heavily armed ships hanging just outside of the center of civilized society.

"I'm unsure," Councilor Tevos, the Asari representative, said to her counterpart, her hands clasped tightly behind her back, "Their actions, or lack of such, may mean they are confused about something. They may have been testing a new form of faster-than-light travel, and something went wrong."

"To ships that size?" Sparatus asked incredulously, "They'd have to be idiots to be able to make ships that dwarf ours and yet not have a safe means of FTL. Or to test it on a fleet over a hundred strong."

The asari rolled her eyes in a discreet manner. "I merely meant that they could've been aiming for a different system, but wound up here instead."

The doors to the gallery opened, revealing a rather tense looking Valern. "What has happened," he asked his fellow Councillors, walking up to them before turning his head to match where their gazes were focused. "Oh my.." he exclaimed before launching into questions, "How long have they been here? Have any attempts to establish communications been made by us or them?"

"Just a few minutes at most Valern. Haven't missed much. Been quiet like a rock. Look," Sparatus said, pointing at the viewscreen in front of them, "Our ships are almost within weapons-range."

"As well as communications-range, Sparatus," Tevos reminded him gently, if firmly.

"Tevos, you know as well as I do that one must take the initiative in a first contact from a position of strength," chided the turian councillor.

"No," shouted Valern vehemently, giving the turian a most vicious of glares. "No strongarming Sparatus! We must act with caution here. Not only are our vessels outnumbered, but also outgunned by an opponent who won't think twice about firing back!"

Tevos gave a look of surprise at the salarian's words. "It sounds like you know a bit about these foreigners already Valern."

The amphibious councillor quickly composed himself. "Look, you must listen closely. Earlier today I received intelligence from the STG…"

* * *

_The SSV Hudson_

Captain Catherine Nowak had seen many things during her years as the CO of one of the Systems Alliance's Dreadnaughts. A few years prior, she had been in command during the battle of the Citadel, and despite all claims to the contrary made by the government, she had a deep-rooted suspicion that the 'Super-Dreadnought' was not what it seemed. But these ships slowly growing outside her bridge windows were far, far bigger than what had attacked years ago.

Seeing these unknown vessels appear out of nowhere was certainly an eye-opener for sure, and her bridge staff soon confirming that there were one-hundred-ten star-craft now hanging outside on the Citadel's doorstep. Catherine had recovered quickly however, and had ordered the Hudson, as well as the ten Alliance Frigates that made up humanity's portion of the Citadel Fleet to investigate the new arrivals. Not wanting to start anything, and who would given the massive size of those ships, Nowak had then ordered the Alliance ships to keep their weapons aimed away from the unknowns, though shields were to be kept fully charged. She wanted to be ready in case of anything. The other ships, however, were not being so considerate. The Turian Dreadnought Tribune was commanded by a belligerent Captain named Placus, and the turian seemed intent on meeting these unknown vessels with guns blazing, never mind the fact that the largest of the alien ships' gun looked like it could one-shot the Tribune. For the last five minutes, Nowak had been having a heated discussion with her fellow captain, a discussion that mostly involved her shouting at the turian to not be a 'cocky hot-heated bastard' and the turian responding with arrogant indifference.

"For the last time, please, Captain," Nowak said to Placus' hologram, projected on her bridge, "I understand that turians like to come from a position of strength, but do not go out and provoke these people! Fall back!"

Placus' mandibles flared slightly in amusement. Catherine wanted to punch the turian in the face. "The Hierarchy does not fall back Captain. These aliens need to see that numbers are no match for Turian discipline and weapon quality. Be meek if you want, human. We'll get the glory here."

He then cut the connection, leaving the Humans on the Hudson to fume.

That arrogant, smug, bastard… Nowak's only sign of anger was her grimace and clenching fists, though she did entertain the notion of opening fire on Placus' ship, if only to stop the idiot; after all, the Tribune was ahead of her own, and if rumour was to be believed, Placus was a glory-hound that no one important would miss anyway.

Sadly, before her thoughts could slide into truly treasonous territory, her comms-officer spoke up.

"Captain! We're receiving a transmission from the unknown fleet! They say that they received our greeting, and return it with one of their own."

As soon as her ships had begun approaching, Nowak had ordered a standard greeting be sent to the foreign fleet, the same message being sent on every frequency and every language in the Citadel's databanks and just for good measure, every human language she had on record.

"That quickly? Strange. Did they say anything else?" the Hudson's captain asked, just thankful that they'd be able to talk to these people first.

"They're saying… that they've come in peace," the comms-officer said, relieved, "They are on a diplomatic mission for a state called the Avani Commonwealth." He paused for a moment. "They wish to meet with the Council. And that they're here too… drop off some folks who got lost in their space."

Filing that last bit of info away for now, Captain Nowak nodded, taking a relieved breath. "Tell all vessels that the unknowns are not hostile. I repeat: they are not hostile."

From one of the larger vessels, a large set of doors along the side began to open. The Hudson's Captain and crew watched with interest, when disaster struck.

"Captain!" the sensor-officer shouted, "The Tribune is firing its main gun!"

Eyes wide in horror, focused on the image of the Tribune; more specifically, at the projectile that was rapidly closing the distance between the Dreadnaught and the vessel's who's side doors just opened.

"_Oh my god_," Nowak thought, "_Please don't tell me we just started a war._"

With a sudden blue flare, a wall of hexagonal plates that were interlocked together came to life in front of the vessel. The shot that would have caused massive damage to every other ship crashed against it and just stopped. It didn't bounce off those shields, rather, the now cooling piece of slag now hung helplessly in front of the barrier.

Nowak's jaw dropped.

"What the f-"

A shot suddenly came from one of the smaller ships. An energy weapon of sorts, the incoming attack struck the Tribune head-on, the dreadnaught shuddering under its impact. Nowak watched in shock as one of the largest ships in the Citadel fleet went dark, with only the illumination of its emergency lights signalling that the crew wouldn't be dying by asphyxiation due to the oxygen scrubbers not working. Other than that, no real damage was done.

Nowak realized what had just happened. This Commonwealth had basically come up to them and said, "Nice try kiddo. Don't do that again," and effortlessly disabled the Tribune. With just one shot. Now more than ever was the captain glad that she hadn't gone in guns blazing.

"Incoming message from the Citadel," the comms-officer said. "Orders to all ships to stand down and fall back to a position twenty-kilometres from the Commonwealth fleet. No shots are to be fired."

"Ma'am, there's another vessel emerging from one of the larger ships," shouted the sensor-officer.

Nowak watched as a ship slipped out from the insides of the vessel that had opened its side doors to what she now assumed to be the hanger bay. "_Just how big are these things_," she thought to herself as she watched the silver fish-like vessel speed away from the larger one. It was small, definitely a size the Hudson's Captain was more familiar with. Its colourings and design seemed to strike Nowak as familiar.

Wait.

"Get me a close up of that vessel," she ordered, waiting at the display for the image to come up. When it did, she looked closely at it. "I'll be damned," she exclaimed. Then she broke out into laughter. "She did it!" The colouring was changed from that awful Cerberus theme, but she recognized that profile from all the times the vessel had come and docked at the Citadel.

"It's the Normandy!"

Glancing back at the Commonwealth fleet, the Hudson's Captain's laughter lessened into silence.

"Get the frigates to help tow the Tribune back to the docks for assistance, and get this ship to the holding position. Move it!" As the crew scurried about and the Hudson moved back towards the Citadel, a single thought kept running through her mind over and over again as she stared at the aliens.

"_Who are these guys.."_

* * *

**Author's Note: Y'know, I never really thought about how to describe the Commonwealth's FTL. Now I'm kicking myself in the arse. In Stellaris, there is, at least with the updated versions of the game, only one mode of transport - Hyperlane - ie Hyperspace. Ships can only travel along certain hyperspace routes between systems. Later on you can get a 'Jump Drive' which allows for faster Hyperlane travel, but also an ability to 'Jump' to any system that is within range. Stellaris players know that this is one of the ways to trigger a Late game Crisis, known as the Unbidden. If you develop Psionics, you can gain the Psi Jump Drive which is basically a better jump drive with +50% more range. That one will not exist. So I'm torn between using just pure hyperdrive, or a jump drive.**

**I'm also still deciding on what sort of Crisis I want to have happened to the Commonwealth before they came to the ME galaxy. Cast your votes in your reviews if you like. Contingency seems to be a bit cliche given, y'know, the Reapers... but whatever right? **

**I was very pleased with the positive feedback I've gotten for all of this. For the people who like the Citadel Council, however (all, what, two of you… somewhere?) the next chapter will not be to your liking. Sorry not sorry.**

**As always, help me watch out for errors I may have missed or things that haven't made sense. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This chapter was difficult to write like you wouldn't believe. It took me a week and a half to write this chapter, at least to a point where I was satisfied with it. Writing dialogue, or at least, the effective dialogue is not my strong point. Thankfully, with the help of a friend, I managed to get this chapter out finally. It took far too long to do so. **

**Anyways, here we are with part two of Citadel/Commonwealth meeting. **

* * *

When the shuttle from the Citadel arrived on board the _Determination_ after a couple of hours had passed since the Commonwealth's unexpected arrival, Valkyrah's first thoughts were, '_That is a very small craft.'_ Glancing over to her group of staff waiting behind her, the second was, "_There is no way we are all going to fit onboard_."

Valkyrah's Chancellor, a yellow-hued hinu called Jilixe Bizxo, was beside the monarch, apologizing for the situation, looking all too embarrassed and flustered. It had been at Bizxo's suggestion that, as a sign of trust to make up for the earlier disabling of the Citadel vessel, they would have a Citadel shuttle carry them onto the giant space station. It seemed that there had been a miscommunication however, as only one transport craft had been sent, and it was inadequate for the size of the diplomatic party. Valkyrah sighed, stopping the hinu's continued apologies by telling her that it wasn't her fault for the mess, and that Valkyrah was not mad at Bixzo. The hinu stopped her rushed mutterings, bowed, and then promptly turned to rejoin the group of dignitaries a few feet away, face still flushed with embarrassment.

Then the queen turned to face the shuttle's pilot, a rather young looking asari (though according to what Valkyrah had been told about asari, this girl may very well be older than her own grandfather had been when he died), dressed in a prim, clean uniform, and who was none to concerned about showing her nervousness in meeting the head of state of a foreign nation that no one knew existed until today. Or maybe, Valkyrah smirked inwardly, it was the sight of the avani flanking the queen, the four tall, genetically enhanced, intimidatingly armoured and armed guards that looked like they could break the asari's spine with their bare hands that had the poor girl worried.

"It seems as though we have a problem with the provided transport," the queen said, addressing the asari.

The blue-skinned alien's eyes focused on Valkyrah and the monarch smiled at how the asari tried to push her nerves down to speak. "I deeply apologize your Majesty. We were told to expect a large group, but.." The asari glanced behind the queen. "It seems that we underestimated just how many would be joining us. We could send for another shuttle to carry the rest of them all," she offered.

The queen thought for a moment before shaking her head. "That will not be necessary… sorry, I never asked for your name?"

"Seyiyh Kyto, ma'am," was the reply.

Valkyrah nodded. "Well then Ms. Kyto, I won't trouble you further. It would be rather embarrassing to have to ask for another shuttle, and then wait for it to arrive. I feel we've kept your Council waiting long enough. So how about this. We'll split the group up, some will go with you, and the rest will follow along in one of our own transport."

The asari nodded. "That sounds very reasonable your Grace. I'll make sure to inform my superiors about the change in plan." Kyto then gave a polite bow, and then activated her omni-tool to do just that while Valkyrah smiled inwardly.

"_We should have just used our own shuttle to begin with instead of having this gong-show_," she thought wryly to herself.

And so it was agreed. With just the Queen, her small group of attendants and her four guards, there was a perfect amount of room in the Citadel shuttle for their group. The others boarded a spare Commonwealth craft diligently, and then they were off. While her guards maintained their stoic silence and her attendants talked among themselves, Valkyrah watched space passing outside, and could not help but feel to feel a little small as they started drawing closer to the giant space station. It was rather huge after all.

During the wait, the Citadel defence fleet appeared to have been arranged artfully in a display of unity. Vessels of the Citadel moved in a broad wedge formation about the Citadel, dreadnoughts leading a swarm of lesser frigates. No doubt they had desired to awe the newcomers under the guise of maintaining security, but Valyrah was completely unperturbed by the display, merely raising eyebrows as a group of Salarian fighters settled into escort positions around the shuttle. Wondering if the pilots of the crafts outside could see her, she gave a small wave through the window. To her amusement, one of the fighters 'waggled' its wings in reply, and she gave a chuckle at the sight. It helped bring up her mood.

As they entered the docking area of the Citadel, the monarch could begin to pick out individuals among the docks, no doubt civilians coming to observe the arrival of a new species (or in this case, several species). According to Shepard, it had almost been three decades since a new species had been discovered since humanity had entered the scene. A platoon of C-Sec officers had been deployed around a platform marked as B-20. C-Sec was the police force of the Citadel if Valkyrah remembered correctly. They seemed to be clearing the area for their arrival, not wanting the citizenry to get too close.

The docking procedure went well enough, all things considered. Even when it came to the Commonwealth's larger shuttle, it seemed that their technology was compatible to allow for an easy disembarking procedure.

"Thank you for your services," the monarch said to the asari pilot, quickly disembarking before a reply could be made. Comfortable as the shuttle was, Valkyrah did not feel relaxed in the small craft. As she descended down to the dock itself, her attendants formed up around her, with her Royal Guard taking up positions in the van-and-rearguard. The half dozen other ministers, dignitaries and the remaining security detail that had been on the other shuttle quickly but with dignity, hurried over to join the queen.

Valkyrah smiled. Each one was dressed their best, not in an ostentatious or flamboyant manner, but one that spoke of humble dignity and modest pride. To display and flaunt wealth was not the Commonwealth's way. Too many lean years of survival when the Commonwealth had first come to this galaxy had curbed that tendency to show off.

The approach of a small group from the Citadel caught the queen's attention and she turned to meet them with her best smile.

The one leading them all was a human, middle-aged by the looks of him, and wearing a rather smart uniform. More armoured and armed individuals walked behind him, of various species, though Valkyrah noticed that there were only individuals of the four main races, and frowned. Her guards tensed at the alien's approach, their hands resting on the pommel of their weapons, but she waved them down, stepping forward to greet this emissary. To their credit, the approaching group barely flinched at her guard's display of aggression.

"Welcome to the Citadel," the human said, "I'm Commander Armando Bailey of Citadel Security."

"I am Queen Valkyrah den Adasga of the Commonwealth," she replied politely, "You are here to take us to this Council yes?"

Bailey nodded, then gestured to one of his officers, who held out a case. "Before we can go, however, I was told to give you these translators. Should cut out the middle-man, so to speak."

The Queen smiled. "That is very kind of you Commander Bailey, but we will not be requiring those translators. Our teams have already deciphered and put together a translation codex for your languages. We appreciate your thoughtfulness though."

Bailey nodded, seeming a mite surprised by Valkyrah's seemingly friendly nature.

"Of course, your grace," Bailey said, and Valkyrah could tell he was doing his best to be very, very polite, "Please follow me; since there are so many of us, we'll have to go in separate cars."

"I hope you don't mind if a few members of my security go with us," Valkyrah asked, though it seemed fairly clear that it wouldn't go over very well if the human refused.

"Of course," he said, then gestured behind him, where several cars waited.

Valkyrah had four of her security personnel, who were Talrani, an extra deterrent towards nosey people, stay behind to guard the Commonwealth's shuttle, before the rest of the group made to follow Bailey to the vehicles. The human seemed surprised at the lack of nervousness from splitting up. Valkyrah gave the human a smile. Even if somehow her guards were overpowered, which would be a feat in itself due to the talrani's natural size and strength, along with their suit augmentations, they would have to face the tobor controlling the shuttle. It was a deck stacked heavily in favour of the defenders, so she was not concerned greatly.

The number of people meant that they needed four cars, which soon flew through the air, en route to the Council chambers. The queen had wound up in the same car as the human commander, along with one of her guards and attendants. As he drove, Bailey decided to make idle chit-chat.

"So, you're a queen? Royalty and all that? That's pretty rare out here, unless you're one of the more megalomaniac types" he said.

Valkyrah nodded, watching the scenery pass by outside the vehicle in a blur. "I have been a Queen for many, many years now. Thankfully, I can say I haven't been too touched by the madness power can bring to those who wield it."

"I saw your ship," Bailey said, "I was impressed; I haven't seen anything that could take down a dreadnaught since…"

"Since…" prodded the avani monarch.

Baile's shoulders sagged slightly. "Well, the Citadel was attacked a couple of years back by this giant alien ship, but we were able to take it down. Eventually. Lost a lot of lives doing it, though."

Valkyrah could tell that the human was being sincere about his words. She had no doubt he was referring to the attack by the Reaper Sovereign that Shepard had told her about. She sighed softly in sympathy, and the rest of the trip was spent in silence.

* * *

As the Commonwealth party was making their way to the Council's spire, all was not quite well amongst the councillors. Indeed, Valern was being grilled by Sparatus quite vehemently.

"What the hell were you thinking Valern," shouted the turian. "You withheld important information from us, allowing us to be caught off guard by this 'Commonwealth'. Lives could have been lost!"

Turian lives no doubt, thought the amphibian with little humour. He managed to pry the turian's hands off of himself, brushing the non-existent dust from his robes.

"It was not my intention to hold the information back," he replied, sounding quite unamused with his counterpart. And with Tevos. The asari had done nothing while Sparatus rough handled the salarian. "I'd only just gotten wind of the information myself. Had to confirm its validity and inform my government to be on the watch. I was on my way here to inform you of the Commonwealth's arrival when they, well, arrived."

"Couldn't you have sent a message or anything," asked Tevos, the normally diplomatic asari sounding the faintest hint annoyed.

"Could have yes. Forgot to sadly in the heat of the moment," the salarian said. Inwardly he couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction to his colleagues losing their cool. Petty payback it may be, but it still felt good. 'Forgot to' indeed.

"And you Udina," spat Sparatus, whirling around to catch the newly arrived member of the Council off guard. "You had intel as well but didn't share it with us. Why?"

"It's not my fault turian intelligence was behind the ball," the human replied somewhat smugly, "I had just received word myself and was checking the information out when they arrived."

"Councillors, please calm yourself," Tevos said, putting her hands up between the turian and the other two. "We mustn't be fighting. A mistake was made yes, but right now we need to display a united front to this Commonwealth. We cannot be seen squabbling like this. We have to get the Commonwealth on our side and under our control."

"_Good luck with that_," thought Valern. From what reports had suggested, the technology the Commonwealth had was beyond advanced. And those ship's were massive. There was no way they would want to submit to a technologically inferior foreign power. Though the idea of getting his hands on even the slightest bit of Commonwealth technology was truly a deeply powerful desire. Especially their means of FTL travel. Now that would be a boon to the Union.

The clock was ticking though, or so goes the saying, and they were running out of time. Checking his omni-tool, the salarian noted that the Commonwealth party were now landing at the embassies and would soon reach the Council Chambers.

"What we should focus on is how are we going to deal with this Commonwealth," Valern says finally. "And we should decide soon. I'm in favour of scientific exchange of sorts, perhaps a mutual-defence pact?"

"Are you joking," Sparatus retorted, crossing his arms as he glared at his colleague. "We are the Council. These aliens will submit to our authority, just as every other race has before them."

"You're playing a dangerous game here Sparatus," Udina said warningly.

Valern was now quite annoyed. "This Commonwealth is not like the other races Sparatus," he snapped, "They don't even use Eezo at all, and they clearly don't use the relays. They disabled one of your own ships! And you still want to go on treating them like they're no threat? You are a fool!"

"SILENCE," Tevos shouted. The asari looked at her colleagues like a teacher would at a band of misbehaving children. "I am tired of you two arguing like this in the past few weeks. What is wrong with you? We are supposed to work together, keep this galaxy united. And all you two know is to argue…"

Udina, who seemed quite pleased to see the bickering between the three other aliens, merely grinned that slimy smug grin ever wider. "What do you suggest we do then, oh wise Tevos," he asked, voice dripping in sarcasm.

Ignoring the urge to slap the human upside the face, the asari councillor merely glared, before speaking in her most diplomatic tone. "We play this by ear. Firstly, we will apologize for the earlier incident." She gave a firm look to Sparatus, who seemed to want to protest. The turian backed down. "Then we will ask that they formally establish diplomatic ties with us. Tie them to us with trade deals and work them till they're under our control, and we have access to their technologies."

"I doubt that this plan will have any success Tevos," Valern stated, walking over to his position on the raised platform that they stood on when they had an audience. By his calculations, this Commonwealth queen would be arriving any minute.

"It matters little." The asari says rather dismissively. "They are a monarchy. How advanced can they really be if they have such a primitive government style? We will soon be able to influence them to a more enlightened form of rule."

"_I'm surrounded by blinded fools.._" the salarian thought as he grimaced under the hood of his robes.

* * *

"_What fools built this thrice-damned elevator,_" fumed the rather impatient Valkyrah. Arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently on the floor of the lift slowly reached its destination, the queen radiated annoyance in the stuffy elevator. At least it was big enough to accommodate all her entourage. Barely.

Commander Bailey looked rather peeved as well, or was that nervousness? It was possible that being in a tightly enclosed space with a group of aliens that were getting restless would make one a bit nervous. When the doors finally opened to reveal the cooler air of their destination, the human and his group of escorts looked more than pleased to leave for more open space.

Once more Valkyrah's guards took up their positions around her and her attendants, the young avani looking around the room with wide-eyed wonder, as did her ministers who trailed behind. It was a very large and grand room Valkyrah had to admit, and the species of trees and beautiful fountains gave it a very picturesque feeling to it. From the way it was designed, with the staggered staircase leading up to the audience chamber, one could also grasp the defensive tactical element of the room as well. No doubt there were guards up on the catwalk above, watching their groups procession. All in all, it was all rather… quaint, in the avani's opinion.

Still, as they made their way up the stairs, Valkyrah thought about the station she was now walking on. It was a project of a grand scale no doubt about it, and she wondered if the Council would try to claim that they had built the Citadel in an effort to intimidate them. She smiled to herself as the politicians she had come to see came into view. _"The Citadel is mere child's play for the Commonwealth._"

Valkyrah recognized each of the aliens standing on the raised platform, no doubt to project an aura of superiority towards all who came to see them. Shepard's officer, Miss Lawson, had been quite helpful in educating the queen on the who's whos of the Council, though she felt a small hint of surprise by the human standing among them. Wasn't the human Counselor supposed to be a man called Anderson? This one didn't look anything like the picture she had been shown.

The queen frowned. She disliked working with unknowns.

Once her group came to a stop in front of the council, Bailey and his guards dispersed around the audience chamber, just close enough to be called to action if needed. Valkyrah waited for the Council to make the first move. While she waited, the monarch wondered how her other projects were doing right at that moment.

"Greetings," the asari said pleasantly to start them off, though with her ears Valkyrah could tell that the alien's sincerity was hollow, "I am Councilor Tevos, of the Asari Republic, and I welcome you all to the Citadel."

"I am Councilor Sparatus, of the Turian Hierarchy," the turian greeted rather gruffly, but said nothing more.

"You'll have to forgive Councilor Sparatus," the robed amphibian said, a small amount of mirth in his voice, "He still rather sore about the fact that you disabled one of his people's vessels in a single shot. I am Councilor Valern, of the Salarian Union. It's a pleasure."

"And I am Councilor Donnel Udina, of the Systems Alliance," the new human said briskly, and Valkyrah could feel her skin crawl under her fur at the sound of his voice.

Quickly composing herself, the avani monarch gave her best politician's smile to the quartet of foreign leaders. She bowed her head in respect before straightening and meeting them eye to eye.

"I am Valkyrah den Adasga, fourth of my name, Queen of the Commonwealth, of Avani, Talrani and Hinu, Guardian of the Tobor and several other titles that keep getting added onto my name," she says with a chuckle, her voice light. She could sense the tension in the councillors seem to relax at her kind greeting. Good. "Tell me," she said, still smiling before dropping her voice to a cold growl. "Is it the Citadel's way to greet a new race by firing upon them unprovoked?"

The councillors drew back sharply, though the amphibian one didn't seem all too surprised that the incident would be brought up. It was the asari who spoke up though.

"Your Grace, I can assure you that it was not our intention to fire upon your vessels. The captain in question has already been removed from his post for disregarding an order to stand down, and has been severely reprimanded for his actions," she said smoothly.

The avani monarch kept up her expression of disapproval. "A mere reprimand? If such an action had been perpetrated by one of my captains, they'd have been facing a court-martial and been dismissed from the navy altogether," Valkyrah commented. She then sighed. "But at least some action was taken."

"I hope that your brief conflict outside the Citadel will not affect any negotiations that we might have," Tevos said, "I'm sure we have much to learn from each other."

"No doubt you wish to understand more about my people's technology," the avani replied cooley. "Perhaps in later discussions, we may talk about this. We are newly met after all, and one doesn't share secrets with those who are still strangers."

"If I may your grace," the salarian began. "Why did you bring so many ships with you to meet with us? While I doubt you intended to bring a panic with your arrival, the size and scale of your fleet is.. Unnerving to behold. Is it the largest host of ships you have?"

Valkyrah's face softened. "It is merely one of many fleets the Commonwealth has to shield itself from the horrors of space Councilor. As for its presence, it was merely an escort for my arrival, since our paths aligned. When I am finished here, we will continue on our way of touring the galaxy."

"Touring the galaxy," asked the salarian, sounding a bit perplexed by the avani's words, "Where is your next stop to be then?"

"We have to see how things go," Valkyrah replied. "But from what I've heard Khar'shan is beautiful at this time of year."

The councillors looked puzzled by her statement, but seemed to shrug it off.

"I'd like to know what your thoughts are about the Citadel and the cities that abound on this ancient station," Tevos continued, preening a bit it seemed, "There are hundreds of thousands of other cities, scattered across the many hundreds of planets that comprise the Citadel Races' collective lands, all benefiting from the vast trade networks across Citadel space."

"Information is also available to all Citadel races. Research, medicine, existing technologies. The possibilities are limitless," Councilor Udina added, "These would benefit your citizens and the Citadel races as well, when your contributions are added to the databanks in our archives."

"An interesting offer, considering that my people have survived quite well without outside goods and technology," Valkyrah spoke, not sounding very impressed by the offer. "While I am sure my people would welcome an opportunity to learn and grow in the wider galaxy, it would be foolish of them to gain all this without expecting a heavy price in return?"

"Indeed. A Citadel peacekeeping force would patrol your borders. At the same time, we require all races that are part of the Citadel to abide by the Treaty of Farixen," rumbled Sparatus, glancing out the window at Valkyrah's fleet still hanging out in the void, "As well as several other treaties regarding military force limitations, and a formal declaration of territorial limits."

"In addition, your research facilities are to be opened for Citadel use," Udina added, "To facilitate the exchange of Commonwealth and Citadel technologies, and to make them available to the Commonwealth's citizens. Citadel civilians are also to be permitted to apply for citizenship within your borders if they so choose. These same rights are to be extended to the Commonwealth as well. Furthermore, you may not forbid your civilians from migrating to and from the Citadel."

"My my, is that all," Valkyrah drawled, glancing over at her ministers. All of them were becoming more and more unimpressed with this council by the looks of their expressions. Just as she had expected. "It sounds more and more like you wish to put a yoke upon my people, to bend them to your will. This does not come off as a very fair and just deal councillor. The Commonwealth is not a client state, but a sovereign one, and has been in charge of its own destiny since its founding millennium ago,' she said, her voice growing as firm as steel.

"Please consider it, your grace," Tevos implored the avani monarch, "You will still have control over your own people. You would still have control over your fleets, and you would have the Citadel peacekeeping forces to help maintain your colonies' security. Your citizens would benefit from vastly increased trade, and the vast archives of information we have would be of great assistance to you."

Valkyrah sighed. Did this Council truly not see that her people were here to clasp hands in an equal partnership, and that they were not going to bend the knee in subservience to them?

"Elaborate on this Farixen treaty if you would please," she said, wanting to move things along at a quicker pace.

Sparatus pulled up his Omni-tool, pulling up the most recent version of the Treaty of Farixen. He seemed quite proud as he explained the details. "Turians, as the primary peacekeeping force in Citadel-controlled space, are entitled to construct as many dreadnoughts as they see fit for the maintenance of peace and security in Citadel Space. Asari and Salarian fleets are permitted to maintain three dreadnoughts for every five that the Turians have constructed. All other races, subject to Citadel rulings and under Citadel protection, may build no more than one dreadnought for every five that the Turians have constructed."

"And what is your definition of a dreadnought councillor Sparatus," Valkyrah asked.

"Why, dreadnoughts are vessels which are close to a kilometre long, and possess a single axially-mounted cannon of comparable length," he answered rather shortly, as though it was something to be known to all.

Valkyrah was silent for a moment. "And how many dreadnaughts are currently run by the Hierarchy," she asked.

"Thirty-nine," was the turian's reply. "By the Treaty of Farixen, this means that any client races are to possess no more than seven dreadnoughts each. As for what we shall do with excess drea-"

"**I have heard enough," **Valkyrah said rather coldly, interrupting the turian, who became rather incensed at being cut off.

"Your grace," Tevos began, but she went silent the avani began to growl. Valkyrah's tail was twitching erratically behind her, and the entire Commonwealth party seemed to be tense.

"You would leave my people near defenceless by the removal of ships from their navy, at the mercy of your economic policies and to give up any advantage in our technology, and for what," she barked harshly. "You can barely protect your own people from slavers and pirates, and you expect us to trust you with our protection? Absolutely not! By your own treaty, over two-thirds of the Commonwealth navy would have to be decommissioned due to their size alone. How would I explain that to my people that the vessels they've built with their hands and had as their guardians were to be discarded, as though all their effort was for nothing at all? And to give up our technological dominance at such a deficit price is unthinkable. At the moment, your technologies have little to no interest to the Commonwealth, and for the most part, are regarded as somewhat laughable in terms of their advancement."

Valkyrah then sighed, calming down from her rant. "Frankly Councillors, I am here to establish a long-lasting peace between our civilizations, in order to prevent hostilities from cropping up between the Commonwealth and the Citadel for the foreseeable future. And yet I come here and I find you asking for more and more of my people when we are mere strangers to one another? No. We do not trust you enough for that. In time, perhaps in the future, as we grow from mere acquaintances to friends, we can pursue further treaties relating to our mutual growth and prosperity. But for now, there will be no agreeing to the terms of the Farixen Treaty, nor to a migration treaty, or technological exchange."

The quartet of alien leaders looked among themselves in confusion, though the salarian didn't seem to be all that surprised by Valkyrah's refusal to submit to the Citadel Council. Sparatus however, gave off an air of simmering rage.

"No one has ever declined to join under the Citadel's banner. Never has," he said harshly.

"Congratulations are in order then Councillor," Valkyrah replied with barely restrained cheekiness, " It seems that you get to experience another first today."

The turian gripped the railing in front of him. "You insole-" he started to say, before he was cut off by Tevos.

"Enough Sparatus. Either cool your head or leave," she stated in a commanding tone. Then she offered Valkyrah an 'oh so apologetic' expression. "I must ask for your pardon for my colleague's outburst. He is right in that no race so far has refused admittance to be part of the Citadel, however. And with your refusal to agree to any of the needed treaties, I'm afraid it seems that we are at a standstill."

Silence reigned in the audience chamber for a few moments until it was broken by Valern. The amphibious alien looked thoughtful as he regarded the avani monarch.

"Perhaps we should see what it is exactly what Queen Valkyrah wants, and work from there," he suggested, giving Val a small politicians smile. The avani immediately started to like him more than the others.

"That does seem like it would be a good way to break this stalemate," Valkyrah said, looking over her group of officials and signalling for the two she wanted for this moment to come over. One was Bizxo, the hinu having already recovered from the mess from earlier and looked ready to get things done, and the other was the only official Valkyrah had hesitated over bringing with her. From what Shepard and the others of the Normandy had mentioned, the Council and indeed, the majority of the galaxy seemed to have an almost hysterical phobia of AI, which did not bode well for the Geth, or for the Tobor. Hidden under a heavy hooded cloak, the mechanical body that currently was under the control of one of the oldest Tobor consciousnesses who went by the title 'Orso Vargo' walked in a near-silent, organic manner to stand next to the queen. Already she could see the Councillors staring in suspicion at the only hidden member of the queen's party.

"I do not mean to insult the Citadel Council or its members with my previous, harsh words. You have done well here, and I mean that from my heart. Truly I do." Valkyrah spoke kindly, pulling her 'nice-noble-lady' persona to the fore. "Every government has its pitfalls and shortcomings. Despite our differences, I, and the rest of the Commonwealth, do wish to become friends and allies to all the races of the Galaxy that it is possible to do so with. So to start this relationship, I'd like to propose that we first start off with a peace treaty between our two nations, to further future dealings between our races, and a mutual defence pact, so that we do not need to worry about having a dagger in our backs when they are turned. In doing so, I'd like to formalize the borders between Council and Commonwealth Space."

She glanced towards the disguised tobor, who then stretched out his hands, palms facing upwards, from which an image of a map of the galaxy emerged, and then enlarged so it could be easily seen by all. Valkyrah then took a step back, allowing Bizxo to take point on this topic.

"Greetings councillors," the hinu said, giving a polite bow. "I am Jilixe Bizxo, Chancellor of the Avani Commonwealth."

"Forgive me, but what exactly is a Chancellor's position in the Commonwealth," Tevos asked, looking a bit confused as to why the molluscoid was here.

"Ah, the position is second to the office of the Prime Minister of Parliament," she explained. "I'm also the Queen's representative to the Parliament. I help mediate disputes and review the legislature brought up between the Crown and Parliament. I'm here to propose to you what Parliament has decided in terms of territory between the Commonwealth and the Citadel Council."

The map displayed then shifted into a coloured format, split up into the various political entities and regions of the galaxy. Only this time, there was now a large green space labelled 'Commonwealth Space', taking up a large chunk of what used to be the Terminus Systems. "This is the Core territory of the Commonwealth as of this moment. As it stands, there is no relay access to any of the worlds located within these borders, meaning that any transportation of people or goods would have to rely solely on the Commonwealth's freight and shipping vessels," the hinu informed the Council.

Pressing a button on her wrist-tool, the map began to change as a green border came into existence, taking in the majority of the Terminus Systems. It solidified against the Council's borders, taking into it the Eagle Nebula and the Ismar Frontier as two systems with large relays, all the way across to include the Pangea Expanse and bordering Geth Space, with everything in between shaded in green, save for two systems; the Omega and Crescent Nebulas. "This shaded territory is the declared, claimed territory of the Commonwealth. The Eagle Nebula and the Ismar Frontier will be used as waypoints and entrepots to the Commonwealth for the Citadel. The mercenary groups and any pirates holding habitable worlds in this claimed area will be removed and/or destroyed to make it safe. Illium will be regarded as a neutral party, as it is run by corporations and not a political entity, and the Commonwealth will not interfere with established trade that exists between Illium and the Citadel. Omega will be annexed by the Commonwealth."

When the hinu finished, the Council looked rather astonished at what was displayed to them.

"This is a large amount of territory Madame Chancellor," Tevos said somewhat uneasily. "It is infested by the lawless and by slavers. It may be very hard to settle and expand in this area."

"As we speak Councillor Tevos, Pirate Killing fleets have already been dispatched to begin the process of elimination of these lawless groups. Outposts are under construction to serve as bases in certain systems. It may take time, but our worlds are a tad overcrowded by all our citizen species, which means we have no shortage of potential colonists who will be willing to strike out and settle new worlds. Science and exploratory vessels are mapping the stars, maps that we will happily share with the Citadel at a later time."

"This is too much," declared Sparatus, "You'll provoke a war across the entire Terminus, a war which will no doubt spill over into Council Space. And your plan to settle the Traverse puts you in conflict with claims we have on the systems there."

"Strange you say that Sparatus," Udina said with a hint of annoyance in his voice, "You've let humanity go out into the Traverse and face all the raids and problems on their own, never lifting a finger when we ran into trouble. Why should this be any different?" The human crossed his arms and gave the turian a glare. "If they want to put forth the effort to pacify the region, I see little reason why we shouldn't at least allow them to do so."

Valern nodded. "Perhaps the Citadel could assist the Commonwealth in this endeavour, if at least partially. Trap some of the pirates between the hammer and anvil, as the human saying goes."

"Action like that would greatly generate trust and respect for the Citadel Council among the Commonwealth Councillor Valern," Bizxo replied with a respectful tone. "As well, this is merely the first draft of our proposal. Further meetings will be required to formalize a more agreeable treaty between our two nations. But it will be said that Commonwealth hunting squadrons will be going out to destroy pirates, marauders and similar parties regardless of any agreement between the Citadel Council and the Commonwealth."

"Does that mean you will be staying on the Citadel Chancellor," Tevos asked, suddenly looking quite interested.

"Until such a time that a diplomatic post can be permanently established between our nations, then yes, I, and my fellow Tobor unit here along with several others present here today, will be residing on one of our smaller vessels here at the Citadel. Once negotiations are completed, we will then depart."

"On a ship? Oh no, that will not do for a foreign dignitary to reside in a ship docked at the Citadel," the asari protested in a way that made Valkyrah roll her eyes. "I am certain more appropriate quarters can be found for you and your staff in the Presidium."

"Your offer is kind Councillor Tevos, but will need to be discussed between my staff and I before we can make a decision. Apologies," Bizxo replied kindly, to which the asari had to fight off an expression of irritation forming on her face.

"We were told that there were four races that made up your Commonwealth Chancellor. So far I've only seen three," Sparatus said suddenly, his eyes roving about Valkyrah's group before settling on the disguised tobor. "And one who refuses to show his face. The one who somehow displayed a map of the galaxy from his hands." The turians voice was filled with suspicion. Pointing at the disguised tobor, the councillor demanded, "Remove that hood from your head at once."

Orso Vargo turned its hidden gaze towards the Chancellor first, then both looked behind them to Valkyrah. The avani merely sighed and nodded. She knew this may happen, she did not want this to happen, but she knew it could happen, and she didn't feel any less annoyed that it actually did happen.

When the tobor turned back to face the Council, it removed the hood from its head, revealing its robotic appearance to all. It raised its metallic hand in greeting to the stunned room, its glowing optics focused on the organic beings in its view.

"I knew it," spat Sparatus, slamming his hand against the railing. "You use Artificial Intelligences! And you've brought one onto the Citadel itself. This is against every law against AIs in Citadel Space! Are you mad Chancellor? Queen Valkyrah? AIs are dangerous, an outright threat to galactic society, and here you are bringing in one right in front of us."

The tobor in question looked at the turian with what could almost be regarded as a puzzled look. "I am a tobor. I am an artificial intelligence. I have the potential to be dangerous. These facts I do not deny. But as to being a threat to society, I do not agree," the machine spoke in a polite, synthesized voice. "Tobor have lived in relative harmony with our organic counterparts for over three thousand years. It has only been on the instigation of organics that we've become hostile, but the moment danger passed, we seek no further bloodshed. In conflict, we've fought alongside our friends on the fields of battle, and seek to prevent future wars. Tobor desire peace, Councillors. You have little to fear from us."

"Do you really expect us to believe this drivel," shouted Sparatus. "AI's only desire one thing; the extinction of the organic races!"

"Maybe in your experience Councillor, some AIs have proven to be troublesome for your peoples. But considering that our experience with AIs is older than your very own existence as a member of the Citadel Council, perhaps you should believe us when we say that we know what we are talking about," Valkyrah replied, stepping forward to stand by the tobor unit. "Our AIs have had many a chance to destroy us over the years. Many, many chances. But they have not. They have stayed loyal. They have saved countless lives during their existence. They have more than earned the right to be regarded as our equals, as our partners for the continued growth and advancement of all the races of the Commonwealth." Here now, the queen let her facade slip, revealing a very pissed off expression on her face. "So, you will treat my people with respect. And if you dislike them, you can leave, because they are here to stay."

"Perhaps a historical exchange is in order," offered Valern, desperate to disperse the tension building between Sparatus and Valkyrah. "Clearly our experience with AIs is different than yours, your grace. We do know so little of each other, or at least, we know little of your people and their ways."

Seeing the olive branch for what it was, Valkyrah relented and stepped back to cool down. "My apologies for the outburst. I am fiercely protective of my people and have trouble backing down when they are not given the respect they deserve. An exchange of information would be a grand first step to prevent such a confrontation from happening again."

* * *

After the data had been exchanged, Tevos had declared a recess for a half-hour to give everyone a much-needed break. The Commonwealth party withdrew to the lower levels of the Council Chambers to discuss what details may have been missed during their time with Shepard, while the Council took to the inner chambers. Sparatus had been dragged by his fringe by the asari to a more secluded part of the room, no doubt so she could berate the turian for being foolish during the talks and making the rest of them (ie; her) look bad.

Udina had taken up to reading in a quiet part of the room, occasionally glancing outside the chamber windows to watch the Commonwealth fleet still sitting silently out in the void. Valern decided to leave the human alone to his thoughts. Had it been Anderson, maybe he would've been willing to discuss possible courses of action. As it was, the salarian didn't feel like adding to his already sizable headache. So he sat down on the couch and took a moment to relax as an aide poured him a cup of tea, before he opened his datapad and began to read what was there.

Everything contained within just cemented the idea that they needed to get the Commonwealth on their side and quickly.

"Can you actually believe this," Udina said, walking over to the salarian and sitting down on a chair across from the salarian. An aide brought the human a cup of tea as well. "They claim to be from a galaxy that is not our own. Ludicrous."

"Considering that they are continually surprising us by what they can do Udina, we should assume that they are telling the truth. I'm more concerned about why they left their own galaxy to come to ours. This... 'Swarm' they mention sounds quite terrifying. They left their own galaxy in an attempt to preserve their people's future, to save them from this threat. Which helps explain why they are rather stubborn about not becoming a client state. As far as they know, they are the last of their respective kinds. They will fight tooth and nail to preserve their independence unless its on their terms. And they were one of the leading members of a galactic federation spanning hundreds of star-nations. Quite an impressive record."

"Yes, quite…" murmured the human Councillor. It was rather impressive, Valern admitted. First day on the job and Udina was dealing with the situation fairly well all things considered. "What if they try and do the same here in this galaxy?"

"What do you mean," asked the Salarian.

"Well, think about it. We hadn't even the faintest inkling that the Commonwealth existed, and its safe to say that the same is true of them with regards to us. They seemed to be rather reclusive, no doubt fearing for their safety in a brand new galaxy. Now that they have revealed to the intergalactic community, what will their plans be? We've seen that they have decided to claim vasts swathes of what is admittedly hostile space, but with their ships, it really couldn't be all that difficult. What comes after?"

"They admitted that they don't trust us, at least not yet," Valern mused, taking a sip of tea before continuing. "But given that they are willing to negotiate despite their potential firepower is a point in favour of them not turning in galaxy-wide conquerors. There's also the matter of Commander Shepard's account of her time spent among them for two months. They were treated very well, and respected as equals. I doubt Sparatus' insulting of the tobor unit won us much favour with them."

"Its an AI Valern. It doesn't have feelings," Udina replied.

"That's a dangerous way of thinking Udina. These Tobor are not an 'AI' like we are familiar with. This is a fully evolved machine race that has had a long and storied history among the Commonwealth citizens and that has their support. These Tobor are not Geth. I wonder what their plans are regarding the geth though."

"Bah, let them deal with those blasted machines and get shot at by them."

"They are accomplished space-farers," the salarian continued on after a moment of silence, scrolling through the information displayed on his datapad. "With a massive grudge against slavers and pirates. Makes sense given their declaration of clearing out every marauding band of idiots in the Terminus. It says that they fought against someone called the 'Great Khan' in three wars and destroyed him with the help of their neighbouring nations. Fought countless battles against slaver states. Batarians better watch out.," he chuckled.

"That's something I don't understand," Udina stated with a frown. "Why would this Queen want to go to the planets of one of the largest groups of scumbags in the galaxy? Clearly, they won't have a high opinion of the batarians given their views on slavery."

"Hmm," the salarian thought for a moment. "Perhaps that is how Queen Valkyrah wishes to make an impact on the galaxy, by going after a common thorn in our sides."

"I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens," the human councillor sighed.

Both of the alien leaders took a sip of their tea. "I foresee the Commonwealth looking for allies outside of the Council," Valern said with a bit of resignation in his tone. "If it hasn't been made clear by now, we can't treat this as a normal first contact."

"I agree," said Tevos, walking up to the two politicians. Sparatus hung back behind the asari, looking rather sullen. "These people have fought against many galactic governments that are guilty of several things that we, the Council, have done in the past. If we are not careful about how we distribute information, they may view us in the same light. Their opinion of us is already very low. If they were to become aware of our past actions, they may refuse to cooperate altogether."

"I doubt we'd be able to tell them otherwise by now," Valern stated, putting his cup down and looking up at the asari councillor. "They've had two months with Commander Shepard, and access to all information that could be found in the Codex. Not to mention whatever data that Cerberus had in their slimy hands at the time. We should assume that they are indeed aware of our past… indiscretions."

"Speaking of Shepard," Sparatus grumbled, "What is to be done with her?"

"Not to worry Sparatus. The Alliance will take care of her," Udina replied. "Her association with Cerberus will need to be investigated thoroughly."

* * *

"It's taking them a while to get a simple history lesson," one of Valkyrah's officials grumbled, looking slightly irritated. "I hope that diplomacy won't be this slow, otherwise progress will take forever."

"Oh, this is nothing," the human named Bailey said, having overheard the comment, "The Council once debated for three whole hours on what kind of foliage theme the Council Chambers should have for the year."

"What did they decide on in the end," Bizxo asked.

With a bitter laugh, the human answered, "They didn't change a thing, because they couldn't agree on a theme for the year. Three hours wasted on absolutely nothin'."

A low rumble of groans and chuckles resounded from the Commonwealth party at the information.

"Commander Shepard was right," Valkyrah said, shaking her head. "I've never heard of anything like that before. Efficient administration is one of the hallmarks of an effective government."

"The Council wouldn't know the word 'efficient' even if you tattooed it across their foreheads," the gruff human officer replied.

The doors to the inner chambers of the Council opened then, and the quartet of politicians re-entered the room, taking their places before the Commonwealth officials. An aide gave a data-pad to Chancellor Bizxo, then hurried off out of sight.

"Contained on that data-pad is the entire history of the Citadel Council and all its races," Valern told them. "Any and all information, save for those regarded as classified, can be found on the Codex."

Bizxo gave a polite smile to the Council. "Thank you for this. Our people do so look forward to learning all there is about you."

"There is something that we would like to discuss before we end things today," Tevos said. "In regards to any... tobor… we respectfully ask that they not be brought onto the Citadel, unless it is in the direst circumstances. After the Geth attack against the Citadel, many people here fear AI, and we do not wish to have cause for alarm or panic due to a tobor's presence."

"We understand your concerns Councillor, and it is not desirable to us to cause a panic either," the Chancellor said. "Tobor units will be kept off the Citadel until they can be introduced to a more receptive public."

"Thank you for your cooperation," the asari replied with a smile. "With that said, we will declare this meeting dismissed for the day. We look forward to furthering negotiations at a later time."

The Queen and her entourage, save for her guards who stood tall and ready at all times, bowed their heads in a respectful manner and then turned to leave, Orso Vargo putting on his hood before they left the room. Not a word was spoken on the entire trip back to the Commonwealth shuttle. At the docks, the calls of various reporters and newscasters echoed after the group as they boarded their vessel. Once the doors to the shuttle were closed, Valkyrah let out a sigh, taking in a relaxing breath.

But there was little rest for the weary. Glancing around at her officials, she gave a tired grin. "Well, that was quite a bit of fun now wasn't it," she said with a chuckle.

"My Queen," Bizxo said, raising a hand, "How exactly are we going to proceed with this Citadel Council? "

It was Orso Vargo who replied, saying, "It wasn't all too difficult to guess at their intentions. That Sparatus clearly just wants us gone; doubtlessly he saw the weapons we possess to be a threat to their superiority. As a turian, he is the strong arm of the Council. His own stubbornness and pride are rather distasteful personality traits, but I believe that if he were to confront these qualities, he could be a potential ally. However, it would have to be on him to show the first move; any actions on our part to get on the Turians' good side would look like a sign of weakness. At least through Sparatus."

"Considering that we took down one of their best ships with a single shot, one would think that he may have been a bit more humble," Bizxo commented.

Orso Vargo nodded before continuing. "I believe that Tevos is the one to watch out for; she sees us not as a threat to galactic security, but a threat to her own people's superiority. From the way the other Councilors were treating her and how she took the lead over the discussions, it suggests that Tevos and the asari people have the most influence in their society."

Valkyrah nodded in agreement. "Valern seems willing to work with us, though given his people's background, he no doubt is after our technology. Personally, I don't mind sharing a few low-level and poorer quality devices to them, but I will not be giving away our advantage in terms of technology, not to a major player of the galactic game."

"Agreed," a talrani in the group spoke up. "The people of this galaxy seem to be extremely divided by species barriers, and the balance of power between factions hangs by a thread. Our appearance on the galactic stage could potentially send each of the powers into a panic."

"What about the Human Councilor," Bizxo asked, "Udina, wasn't it?"

"I do not like him," the queen stated bluntly. "He gives me a feeling of great unease. I do not trust him, and he is also a wildcard in this game. We were expecting to meet this David Anderson that Shepard knows. Now we will have to play the knowledge game."

"Their network is rather quite easy to get into once you know where to look for. The trick is to be cautious so as not to be caught. They are quite paranoid," a black-furred avani said from the back of the group. "Plenty of places onboard that station that cast shadows too," he added cryptically.

"Well, I'm not sure that I want to be close to Sparatus," Orso Vargo said after a moment of silence, "If looks could destroy, he looked like he would have turned me into scrap that instant. And Tevos is too much of a politician to be trusted."

Bixzu nodded. "Both have the potential to be a problem. Valern is cautious; I believe that the salarian does recognize our position and power, and wishes to befriend us, even though it probably for the Union's own self-interests. Udina comes off as a craven who will do anything to further humanity's goals."

"I think it is our best interests to go ahead with our previous plans. Continue working with the Citadel Council for the time being. Approach the species' governments individually though. Make contact with the minor races. Let's see if we can get any over into our camp. The geth, quarians, krogan and the drell that remain on their homeworld specifically. Volus and Elcor groups are secondary, but still important. Time is of the essence here, who knows when the Reapers will arrive. We must prepare. Understand," Valkyrah asked to the group before her. Everyone nodded.

"Good. To that end, I'm re-authorizing the development of Project 'Star-Eyes' effective immediately. I want it completed as soon as possible, and all spare resources are to go into its construction."

Everyone saluted Valkyrah. "Yes ma'am," was the resounding reply.

"_The Commonwealth sees all_," was the motto of the Commonwealth's Reconnaissance & Espionage Corps. It meant that their enemies could do little to hide their secrets from the prying eyes of the Commonwealth. And soon those words would become reality.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay. Next chapter will be dealing with the aftermath of this meeting and the enaction of the Commonwealth's plans. Hopefully, it will not take me so very long to get it written as this one did. I already have an idea of what I want to do for it, which helps. **

**Anyways, I dunno what else to put down here. Kudos to those who can guess what Project 'Star-Eyes' is. Any tips and ideas you guys have, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again for reading my little ramblings.**

**Note 2.0: Forgot to mention, in case it wasn't clear. Went with the ****Prethoryn Scourge for the crisis event that made the Commonwealth flee their galaxy. Will be elaborated on further in a future chapter. **

**Also, I took the liberty of designing a little map to help people understand just where the Commonwealth is located in the ME galaxy. The original image isn't mine (wish I had that talent) but what I added to it is. The link is this: **drive. google file/d/1tkhWcD2DzMI3bTJKyyecjXS23grVjR9s/view?usp=sharing

**Just copy and paste and remove the spaces and it should work... I hope. Let me know if it doesn't. I've tested it a few times and it has worked, but you know how the internet is at times. I really dislike how the site handles links. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So, this took way longer to get out than I thought it would. The funny thing about writing things; It's hard! Still, I'm glad this part is out. **

**For clarification's sake, the first scene takes place roughly around the same time as Valkyrah's meeting with the Council. The Second and Third take place on the same day. Hope that lessens confusion. **

**Some things just make so much more sense in my head...**

* * *

Despite the Chaos that had occurred with the Commonwealth's arrival, the Normandy had remarkably little difficulty finding a berth to land in onboard the Citadel. It could be that with traffic coming to a near standstill due to the lingering shock of a giant alien fleet arriving at the Citadel's doorstep was the reason. Those onboard the Normandyknew the truth however; Shepard merely used her Spectre status to push her way into getting docking space.

The reason for Shepard's haste was due to a message she had received when the Normandy had arrived at the Citadel with the rest of the Commonwealth Fleet. The message had been from Anderson, and it contained an urgent plea for Shepard to meet with him as soon as she could. So, after putting Miranda in charge of resupplying the Normandy's stores, giving the former operative permission to use Shepard's Spectre status to get them delivered post-haste, the Spectre, along with Garrus and Tali, took off for the Presidium to meet with her former mentor.

It had been a surprise when, upon their arrival, the trio discovered that Anderson was no longer Humanity's Councillor, and had resigned from that position over a week ago, moving out of his former office that very morning. Shepard was at a loss. What had happened during those two months stuck in Commonwealth Space? So when she caught sight of the former Councilor pacing back and forth by the taxi station at the embassies, she hurried over to meet him, Garrus and Tali following her. To the soldier's surprise, Anderson gave her a quick but strong embrace, looking so very relieved to see her face.

"I got your message," Anderson said, grinning proudly at the red-haired spectre. "I had given up hope that you'd make it. Guess that proves that one should never bet against Commander Shepard." He chuckled at the small joke. "You gave me a fright kid. It's good to see you." He glanced behind Shepard to her companions. "You as well, Vakarian. Miss Zorah."

The two aliens returned the greetings warmly. "Mind telling me what exactly happened out there? Your message gave me a lot of details, but could you go over it again, please? You disappear for two months and then come back from the dead, again, but this time with an armada at your back," he says with no little surprise and a bit of pride in his voice.

So Shepard once more explained what exactly had happened during her mission against the Collectors. Garrus and Tali added some extra details here and there throughout Shepard's explanation, and Anderson listened with rapt attention, his eyes wide as he took it all in. When she got to the point where they had met the Commonwealth, Anderson became very thoughtful, nodding along as Shepard explained how the Commonwealth had helped them while the Normandy had been effectively stranded, patching up their vessel and treating them very kindly. When Shepard told Anderson how she had met the Queen face to face, along with all the high ranks of the Commonwealth government, Anderson looked amazed and grew more so when she brought up how they believed her about the reapers, mentioning some of the insane creatures they had gone up against and won.

The dark-skinned human shook his head, grinning in astonishment. "Only you could do something like that Shepard," he said with a chuckle. "Go out to fight one race of aliens only to bring back four more. And these aliens sound like they'll be a tough one to deal with. Udina's got his work cut out for him."

The mentioning of Udina made the mood of the entire group decline somewhat. Shepard asked why Anderson had resigned, and he replied that he had grown to dislike politics too much to be effective in them, preferring his old life as a soldier with decisive action among other things.

"And speaking of that snake Udina, you'll need to get off the Citadel asap," he told the trio with all seriousness.

Puzzled, Shepard asked why.

"When I was in Udina's office, telling him about your message, I saw on his desk paperwork relating to you Shepard," Anderson replied. "It's a warrant for your arrest. Udina's on the warpath because of your association with Cerberus and he wants the Normandy too."

"I cut all ties with Cerberus when I blew up the collectors," Shepard said, sounding quite peeved at the news. Anderson merely nodded sadly.

"I'm glad to hear that, but despite that fact, you did work with a terrorist organization, and there are plenty of people in the alliance parliament who are less than enthused about your former... partners." The older human sighed. "I did my best to hold them off, but with Udina in command now, the moment things calm down from the Commonwealth's arrival, he's going to be after you. So you need to get out of Citadel space fast."

"Thank you for letting us know Anderson," the Spectre said, looking quite annoyed about being a fugitive. Again. "I suppose that we should get going. The moment we get resupplied, we'll head out."

Anderson nodded. "That would be best. I'll try to work things out from my end. I do have a few allies from my time as Councillor. I'll do my best to hold the wolves back."

"Thanks," Shepard replied, giving the former Captain a salute. "I'll see you around," she added, before walking away to hail a taxi.

"Goodbye Shepard. Stay safe," Anderson said, before turning around and heading back into the embassies.

Once they were back aboard the Normandy, Shepard told the crew of what had occurred. It was a testament to her leadership skills that, at her mentioning of the news, nearly all were up in arms over the matter. It warmed her heart and filled her with bittersweet feelings at their loyalty. She offered to pay each of them their way off the Citadel to places where they could be safe from Udina's campaign, putting her foot down on their protests with the fact that most of them would be considered criminals and would be hunted down by the Alliance if given the chance. It had only been with the greatest of reluctance that some took the offer and departed.

By the end of the goodbyes, only a small smattering of crew remained, with Joker, Tali, Garrus, Kenneth, Gabby and Chakwas staying behind. No amount of words or using her position as Commander could get them to budge. So it was then that, once they were restocked, Shepard used her authority as a council Spectre to depart. The silvery profile of the Normandy could be seen slipping away from the Citadel with speed, before vanishing beyond the Relay into the void.

* * *

It had been two months since the Normandy's arrival in Commonwealth Space. Two months of meetings, of exchanging information, of learning of different cultures and governments of the races around them. To learn that they weren't alone anymore in this galaxy they were in. The citizenry of the Commonwealth drank all of this new information up like it was a cool drink on a hot day. The Codex, the principal information bank of the newly expanded galaxy, became one of the most studied literary publications during this time, being read by all levels of Commonwealth society. It was fascinating for all to read about what lies beyond the Commonwealth's borders.

Soon though, another emotion grew alongside the excitement and fascination felt by the citizenry of the Commonwealth; Disgust. As the information about the galaxy around the Commonwealth spread, so too did it's dirtied underside. The Commonwealth's Parliament was soon filled with debates as the citizens took to the holo-net forums and talked about the rampant piracy, slavery and injustice going on in the galaxy outside their borders. The situations facing the krogans, drell, quarians and geth, as well as the other races in their part of the galaxy were discussed, debated and analyzed over and over again. The batarians were a particularly heated subject, especially among the talrani citizens. While some citizens may have argued that it wasn't their problem, it wasn't their duty to correct the problems of the galaxy outside the Commonwealth and that they shouldn't get involved with the races out in the galaxy, by far the grand majority were up in arms and argued the opposite, that something must be done.

By the end of the second month of the Normandy's arrival in Commonwealth space, plans had been drafted, viewed, discarded, rewritten and then presented again. The Crown, Parliament and the Citizenry all came to agree to a plan of action. The Commonwealth had the technology, strength, people and the capacity to bring about a great change in this galaxy. It was no longer possible to continue the slow, cautious expansion of centuries past. It was time to re-enter the great galactic game.

To that end, with the authorization of Parliament and the Queen's signature before her departure to meet with the largest of the galaxy's political entities, dozens of spacecraft were dispatched beyond the borders of the Commonwealth. Many dozens of small task groups, full of military ships to pave the way safe for the scientists, construction crews and colonists that would soon follow. Specialized pirate hunters were sent off to take care of any lawless groups that might dare to prey on Commonwealth shipping. The Commonwealth Navy was brought up to battle readiness, its fleets prepped for conflict before moving off to staging areas. And lastly, a small group of stealth transports were sent off on special missions to meet with the locals of this new galaxy.

One of these unnamed transports was under the command of a talrani named Tirgir Namta, a large, intimidating reptile, bulkier than the average talrani, with black scales and plates covering his body. He wore the standard grey military gear given to each navy personnel, which only added to his large appearance. His crew was made up of a dozen marines of the three organic races of the Commonwealth, all squeezed into the crowded cargo hold of the transport. The majority of space in the hold was taken up by crates of supplies, all waiting to be delivered to their destination.

The navigation computer had just finished plotting their course to their target. Namta had been debriefed about the location he was about to head too. Tuchanka, the krogan homeworld, a planet that boasts extreme temperatures, virulent diseases, and predatory fauna. It sounded like a wonderful place to visit, the talrani thought to himself. Now one might think that since the talrani came from a frozen, glacial planet, the idea of a sun-baked world would not be appealing at all. But Namta was not like his ancestors. He was the fourth-generation descendant of a family of colonists that came from a hot, dry dune world. Throw in some genetic treatments and the heat had never been an issue for Namta. His crew came from similar backgrounds, all of them chosen to travel to Tuchanka due to their history living on harsh worlds.

Warning his crewmates that they were about to jump, Namta double-checked the coordinates he'd received before engaging the ship's hyperdrive. Space bent around the vessel for a moment, before the transport vanished into the night. It would only take a few small hours to arrive at their destination, but Namta did not leave his post. The Krogan DMZ, or specifically the Aralakh system, was under strict watch by the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission. While it would be preferable to go through appropriate channels, Commander Shepard's words of warning about how slow and corrupt the bureaucracy of the Citadel was and the still lingering fear of the Krogan would hamper all their Commonwealth's plans for the krogan had the higher-ups in the Commonwealth's chain of command decide on a more stealthy approach, at least until they could get above the board approval. The moment that Namta would arrive in DMZ, he would engage the transports stealth drive and slip onto Tuchanka unseen. Previous tests done by the military weeks before the Queen's departure for the Citadel, showed that the CDEM's sensors seemed incapable of picking up on objects using Commonwealth cloaking technology. Tobor runtimes had successfully infiltrated the CDEM's battle stations and would run low-key interference with scanners and similar equipment. It would still be a very, very risky business sneaking onto Tuchanka.

Namta knew why the Commonwealth was taking such a risk with the Krogan. One of them was for a moral standpoint. The Krogan had been sentenced to slowly perish as a species. Yes, it was from the result of a war of their own making and their actions that lead to their heavy punishment, but they had been offered no way out. No goal to work towards to relieve themselves of their punishment. And only the barest minimal effort had been put into restoring their homeworld to a more habitable state. They'd been left basically on their own, which only festered angry feelings and the general state of stagnation and relative hopelessness that had resided on the planet for thousands of years. To allow such suffering to continue was against the ideals and morals that the Commonwealth held in high regard, as such, the majority of the population had gone in favour of helping the plight of the Krogan.

The second reason was from a more tactical and pragmatic viewpoint. With the approaching threat of the Reapers, it was imperative to present a united front to stand against them. And the krogan were, according to Shepard's testimony and the analysis of the Commonwealth, some of the best fighters in the galaxy, on par with the talrani in terms of strength and prowess in battle. To have the Krogan's favour would be a great boon to the Commonwealth, and the survival of all living races in the galaxy.

Namta had been instructed to find a friend of Shepard's, a krogan by the name of Urdnot Wrex, an accomplished battlemaster and leader of one of the largest clans on Tuchanka. The talrani found himself admiring the foreign chieftain, as the Krogan had instituted several modernizing reforms and fought against the senseless, glorified violence his species had been known for, instead arguing for the return of the old krogan values of courage, strength, and honour. Namta was quite certain that Wrex could be reasoned with fairly. Or at least, so he hoped.

Soon enough space began to slow down as the transport vessel left hyperspace, exiting it completely just beyond the gravity well of the Aralakh's system's star. Immediately, Namta engaged the stealth drive and began the slow, methodical approach towards Tuchanka. A map had been provided displaying the most optimal route to take, weaving the hidden transport around sensor buoys and patrols. Namta's communication officer reported that there was no chatter about their arrival and that all seemed to be going to plan.

It wasn't long until they descended into the atmosphere, using tobor runtimes to blank out the CDEM's sensors from their entry. Despite Namta's extensive travelling around the Commonwealth's planets, Tuchanka was a unique experience for talrani. Out of the window of the still disguised transport, he spied an ancient desert world. Gale winds churned up dust from the ground until it formed a sandstorm in appearance, and whistled along deserted streets that looked new yet ancient at the same time. Namta recognized buildings that one could ascribe to an advanced world. These towers that rose from the parched ground, once filled with life, now stood as frozen skeletons, their outer walls rotted away to reveal the structures within. What once might have been a great blocky city was in ruins, with buildings crumpled to dust, machinery left to sit and decay where they fell.

"_So this is what a world scorched by nuclear war looks like_," the talrani thought, feelings of melancholy bubbling up inside him at the terrible, lonely sight of the decaying city. Namta soon found himself having a new level of respect for the krogan who lived here. It takes a certain amount of courage to continue living on a ruined world. Or desperation.

He guided the transport down to where the navigation computer had said was Clan Urdnot territory, before landing in what looked to be an open area not too far from a cluster of buildings. The sensors indicated that surface radiation was high, but not deadly and that the temperature was extremely high. Once their vessel had powered down, Namta left the navigation compartment and joined his fellow soldiers in the cargo hold. To pave the way in establishing a working relationship with the krogan, the hold had been packed with food, medical supplies, tools and terraforming equipment, which left little room to move in.

A quick briefing, reiterating the specifics of what their mission was, a weapons check and sealing of their helmets later, they lowered the ramp of the transport down. Immediately the were buffeted by the hot, dry winds of Tuchanka, dust entering the cargo bay. Namta frowned before descending. All the hinu marines would be remaining at the craft to guard the transport and its cargo, while the talrani and avani would head out to meet with the Urdnot Clan.

Not even a hundred metres away from their craft and Tamta's group met their first hostile contact. They were walking by a small ridge just outside the ruins. A massive insect-like creature flew overhead, its screeching cry loud enough to cause more than one marine to shout in pain. It was like a giant worm, but with wings, and from it dropped a dozen insectoid creatures.

"Open fire," Namta shouted, clicking off the safety of his weapon and firing off a plasma bolt at the nearest insect. The marines quickly followed, and soon the air was full of the reports of blaster fire. Whatever these creatures were, they did not seem to have an immunity to the energy weapons being fired at them, though it took two or three shots to down them, unless a shot was lucky and struck the animal in the head. One marine was almost cooked when one of the insects got too close and breathed fire at her. Thankfully the avani would merely smell of burnt fur for the next few hours as she quickly shot and killed the insect before it could launch another fire attack.

No sooner than they had killed all the smaller insects than the flying worm came back, crying its horrid call and dropped more of the fire-breathing vermin on the group. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the flying bug was doing. As he shot at the newly arrived group of enemies, Tamta ordered that the next time the flying worm came overhead that they were to shoot it dead. The group of insects were dispatched quicker than their previous counterparts, and the group of soldiers quickly took up a position to combat the flying worm.

On its third run, the flying animal came at the group once again. Namta and his group aimed their weapons, ready to open fire on the target, when the sudden crack of unfamiliar weaponry came from above the group. The flying worm shuddered in midair, struck by hundreds of rounds. Blinking in surprise, Namta watched as the animal wailed in pain before another volley of ammunition struck its body, some tearing through its wings, making it fall towards the ground. Realizing the opportunity, the talrani fired off a few bolts at the worm's head, the shots striking true. It unleashed a shrieking cry before it collapsed onto the ground, limp and dead like the smaller insects around it.

A cheer from the marines went up, and Namta grinned, pleased that his group had survived with zero casualties. But his attention was soon found on where the foreign support had come from. Looking up at the ridge next to their position, Namta caught sight of a group of Krogan coming down for its summit. This was his first time seeing a Krogan in the flesh, and the talrani was quite intrigued by their appearance. If one took away the humps on their backs, one might be able to think that the talrani and the Krogan as being some distant genetic cousins. Namta turned to face the approaching group, whose numbers were about two dozen, weapon ready but not raised. The rest of the marines mimicked their leader, relaxing in their stance but ready to engage if necessary.

The squad of armed krogan came closer to the Commonwealth marines, until they were mere feet apart from one another. Namta could see the tension in their frames, in the way they gripped their weapons and their suspicious glares. From among the group of krogan, one came to the front; a red plated individual wearing thick foreign armour coloured the same red as the plates on his head. Scars were visible on the krogan's face, and while the biped alien looked far older than Namta, there was little doubt in the talrani's mind that this krogan was a fierce and strong warrior, and would not go down without a fight.

"Hello there," Namta said, his voice echoing out from his helm. "Thank you for the assistance against that flying beast."

Fierce red eyes stared at the talrani, and despite his training and discipline Namta struggled not to take a step back from the krogan. Those eyes then looked over each of the soldiers in Namta's group, studying them all. The talrani was able to tell that even though the heavy glare, there was curiosity in those eyes.

Finally, after a few moments of intense examination, the red krogan spoke. "Who are you," he asked bluntly, his voice deep and commanding. "You're not from around here. Your weapons and armour are strange, and you don't smell like any alien I know of."

"I am Major Tirgir Namta, of the Commonwealth Rangers, my associates being from the Marine Corp of the Commonwealth Navy," Namta replied with pride in his voice.

"Commonwealth," the krogan asked, scoffing, "Never heard of you. You a new race the Council just discovered, or did you just wind up here on accident?"

"It could be said that as we are speaking now, the Commonwealth is meeting with your Council," Namta could see the interest grow in the krogan's eyes, "But we have been aware of your existence for at least two of your months, by means of a mutual acquaintance between the Commonwealth and the krogan clans."

"And who is this 'mutual' acquaintance we supposedly have with you lot," the red reptile asked, suspicion lacing each of his words.

"A miss Commander Jane Shepard," was Namta's reply.

The tension in the air increased to oppressive levels, as the krogan's red eyes narrowed, his followers tensing behind him. The marines began to ready their weapons, but Namta waved them down.

"What do you know of Shepard," barked the red krogan. "Where is she? Is she okay? If you've hurt her you're going to be maw fertilizer."

"Commander Shepard is quite safe, I can assure you of that," was Namta's quick reply, "She is being returned to her people, along with all of her crew."

The pressure in the air around them began to lessen but still hung with the threat of violence.

"Explain," ordered the red krogan.

Namta complied with the request and went into an accurate albeit summary of the events of the last two months. Shepard's arrival in Commonwealth controlled space, to the repairs to the Normandy, up until the present, where she was travelling with heads of state to meet the leaders of the Council. Throughout the entire explanation, the tension eased off of the krogan and his followers, who seemed to relax if ever so slightly. When Namta finished, the red krogan let loose a loud guffaw of guttural laughter, and gave the talrani major what must've been a smile but came off as a rather terrifying rictus.

"Leave it to Shepard to go out killing an entire race of bugs, only to come back from the dead again with three new aliens at her back," he chuckled in deep, bassy tones.

Wait. Commander Shepard had died?! Filing that bit of information away for a later report, Namta smiled at the krogan visible through his helmet visor.

"I take it you are acquainted with the Commander personally," he asked.

The krogan nodded, seeming quite proud of the fact. "I suppose I owe you guys thanks for getting her back safely." Then he grew serious once more. "But what brings you to Tuchanka, or more importantly Clan Urdnot territory? Doubt it was for the scenery," he said, gesturing with a shrug to the ruins coated in the seemingly never-ending wind.

"First, I must ask," Namta asked in an official tone, "Are you and your group affiliated with the Urdnot Clan?"

A chuckle from the group was the response. "Sure are," the red krogan replied like it would be obvious.

"Alright then. Me and my team here were assigned to meet with the leader of Clan Urdnot on behalf of the Commonwealth, to discuss establishing relations between the two parties, among other important topics," Namta explained.

"I'm Urdnot Wrex, the Clan leader for Urdnot," the red krogan said without any sort of flourish, just with plain brutal bluntness.

Namta was caught off guard by that declaration. He was expecting at least several hours of having to travel to the Urdnot camp and waiting to be granted an audience before meeting the chief. He cursed his briefing officer for not including a photograph of the krogan leader standing in front of him.

"I… see…" the talrani said with a nod. "It is a pleasure to meet you then Sir."

Wrex grunted. "We can talk back at the camp. We were in the middle of a hunt when we saw and heard your weapons firing off and the screech of klixen and the harvester," he said, glancing over at the carcass of the large insectoid and the smaller ones littering the ground around the two groups.

"We were on our way to search for your camp when we were attacked by these creatures," Namta said, "Again, thank you for your help in taking down the… harvester."

"Heh, couldn't let you guys have all the fun. We were after these insects anyways, so thanks for doing most of the hard work," came another throaty chuckle from the krogan.

"My men have brought supplies, medicine and foodstuffs as a gift for your clan. They're still on board our ship. We weren't sure if we'd be welcomed if we landed on your doorstep, so we landed a ways away."

Wrex shrugged. "Probably for the best if you move your ship closer to the compound. Scavengers and maws make the wastes dangerous. My men will help unload your supplies after we return with these prizes here," he said.

"I will send a message to my people on board my transport to go on ahead. If you don't mind, my group can travel with yours," Namta suggested.

"No skin off my hump," was the Krogan's reply. "So long as you help us bring some of this back. This is a fairly good haul. Would be a shame to waste it."

A glance over to the Commonwealth marines, who all nodded in confirmation, and Namta agreed. All the marines put their weapons away and moved to pick up the smaller klixen, the talrani major also picking up one to carry. The insects were fairly large and somewhat heavy to carry. Wrex looked on, seeming to approve of the help, before he gestured to the krogan behind him, the group dividing into some who gathered the klixen up, while others went over to go take care of the harvester. The clan leader himself grabbed a couple of klixen before gesturing for the Commonwealth soldiers to follow.

"Hope you don't mind walking for a distance. The hunting grounds aren't exactly what you'd call local," Wrex said with a chuckle.

"My men and I have been raised on harsh worlds, sir. We're used to travelling over rough terrain," Namta replied, adjusting his load to a more comfortable position. His suit's AI had already sent off a notification to the crew back at the shuttle to wait a few hours before approaching the Urdnot compound.

Wrex smiled that strange smile of his, speaking in a deep, jovial tone. "Good, good. When we get back to camp, we'll chat a little, then share some fresh klixen stew with you and your men."

Namta blinked, looking at the krogan with an incredulous expression, before staring at the insect hanging over his shoulder. "You eat these things," he asked in surprise.

"Yup," was the simple response.

"They breathe fire," one of the marines, the avani who almost got burnt, exclaimed in shock.

"Welcome to Tuchanka kid," the clan leader replied with a throaty laugh. "It is eat or be eaten out here. You'll either like the stew, or you'll be puking for a couple of hours. Just have to wait and see."

The avani groaned and glared at the insectoid he was carrying. Namta shrugged to himself, though he did adjust his load slightly away from himself. Food poisoning was the least of their worries on Tuchanka.

* * *

Across the galaxy, deep in one of the many minor star clusters that were scattered throughout the Terminus, the Quarian Flotilla, also known as the Migrant fleet, drifted on its never-ending exile in search of needed supplies. For the average quarian living in the cramped, crowded quarters of their ship bound homes, it should have been just another day of repairing leaky hulls, overworked systems and the majority fearing an attack by the geth to deal the deathblow to the quarian race.

However, it was not 'just another day' for the quarians residing on the Flotilla, for from the officer's mess to the depths of engineering, the air with abuzz with whispers flowing from the mouthpieces of every quarian young and old. The Conclave and the Admiralty board were locked behind closed doors and had been for hours now. There were rumours as well. Strangers were on board the Flotilla, arriving on foreign, unknown ships. Several of these vessels now rested just outside the main body of the Flotilla, with the Patrol Fleet standing watch over them. 'It's a geth trick' declared some of the more paranoid sectors of the populace. Others told a different tale, that this was first contact with a new race of people. Fear was very prevalent during this time, with many concerned and fearful of just what these strangers might do.

Such thoughts were going through the mind of one Kon'Laanis vas Hora, Captain of the Hora, a small frigate that had been bought off of the Volus, but had since been renovated to work as an effective, if cramped, research ship. Kon'Lannis had been away at the time of the foreigner's arrival, having been assigned to investigate rumours of eezo deposits in a nearby system's asteroid field, but had raced back the moment he had gotten wind of the event. Now he and his small escort of quarian marines were marching at a brisk pace through the Rayya's halls, making their way through the crowds of concerned civilians to the Conclave Meeting Hall. Deep inside, Kon'Lannis felt something in his bones. Whether it was a feeling for good or ill, he did not know, but he knew he had to get the Hall quickly, for whatever was happening screamed at him to be there.

It would take less than polite shoving and shouting to get out of the way for the small group of quarians to make it to the Meeting Hall's doors, and even then, more time was spent while Kon'Lannis to prove his credentials to the obstinate guards blocking the entrance. Grumbling sourly to himself, the captain of the Hora quickly went inside, down the passageway before entering the Conclave's gathering. He was immediately assaulted by angry shouts and the swearing jeers of his fellow captains, the energy in the room saturated in unease.

"What is going on here," Kon'Lannis asked a nearby captain, a female quarian.

"It is the foreigners. New aliens," she replied, pointed down to the bottom of the hall, where there were indeed a small group of aliens standing before the Admiralty Board and the assembly of captains. "They arrived earlier, call themselves the Commonwealth, and came to offer a deal."

Kon'Lannis stared down at the aliens, his mind buzzing from the news. It seemed that two different species were standing there, judging by the differences in the body structure he could see. Some were larger, bulkier and wore a different style of armoured suit over their frames compared to their lighter, more lithe looking counterparts. Not to mention that the smaller aliens had what appeared to be fluffy, tail-like appendages whereas the larger ones did not.

"What sort of deal," he asked the female captain.

"They know of the fleet's woes and that of the Quarian people. They want to offer us asylum in their territory, give us a place to live and recover from our exile. They even want to help restore our immune systems."

His eyes widened, and he stared down at the group weathering the shouting below with a mix of awe and suspicion. Those were some weighty promises these foreigners were offering.

"How do they know of these things? How could they possibly be aware of the Flotilla's current state," he half asked, half demanded, almost wanting to shake all the answers out from his fellow captain.

Before she could reply, however, another quarian, this one a young male, cut in. "It was Commander Shepard and Tali'Zorah who told them."

Kon'Lannis blinked, surprised by this. He had heard about Tali'Zorah's trial of treason, and how her human captain had lambasted the Admiralty Board for using Zorah as a pawn in their political games, resulting in Tali's acquittal of all charges. It had caused quite a stir among the flotilla, and more than a few quarian's held Shepard in high regard for going so far in defence of her quarian crewmate.

The quarian continued on, saying, "They claim to have rescued the two in what is uncharted space. They learned of our race's situation from them, and their government decided to offer us aid. Apparently, being sentenced to a slow extinction by means of being trapped in space is a grave offence in this Commonwealth's view."

The female captain nodded in agreement. Kon'Lannis stood there, amazed by this. Then he grew thoughtful. "No one offers anything, let alone something as big as this, without asking for a heavy price in return," he stated, glancing over at the aliens below before asking, "What is it that this Commonwealth wants in exchange?"

"That's what all this shouting is about," the female captain replied with a sigh.

The young captain quickly elaborated on the female's statement. "They want us to join them under their banner as an equal partner. Besides asking for our loyalty, they say that if we agree, then we have to give up on reconquering the homeworld, that we must wait for a diplomatic solution to be realized."

"They cannot be serious," Kon'Lannis exclaimed in shock, understanding now just what had everyone in an uproar. "They don't really expect us to make peace with the geth and give up our dreams of Rannoch."

"They do. It's one of their conditions for any quarian accepting their offer. Oh, and get this, they have AI's living among them," the young captain said with all seriousness.

"You're not lying. Are these people insane? How can they trust AIs when they know about our history with the Geth? Those robots tried to kill us all in the rebellion."

The female captain spoke up then. "Before you arrived, they tried to have one of their AIs talk to the Board and the Conclave through a holographic projection, but it spooked most of the captains. Now some are saying we should just throw these people out of the Flotilla."

The younger captain nodded. "Some like Admiral Zaal'Koris are for the offer, seeing it as a way to end our exile peacefully and give our people a real home. Han'Gerrel refuses due to the condition that the Flotilla would not be allowed to go to war for the Homeworld. Daro'Xen seems keen to study the Commonwealth's AI, a sentiment shared by her group of scientists, though she dislikes the idea of not being allowed to act against the Geth. Shala'Raan seems to be undecided, though it is known that she simply wants the exile to end and for us to have a home. Most of the captains are divided between Koris, Gerrel and Raan."

Kon'Lannis sighed, pondering these things. While he did not hate AI in general, rather thinking them to be quite useful, he, like most quarian younglings, had been raised to fear and hate the Geth. Like all quarians, he dreamed of going back to the homeworld, to Rannoch. But as the years passed, that idea became more and more of a pipe dream to him. The thought of being offered a home, without having to fight and die for it, was also extremely appealing to Kon'Lannis. But he did not know enough about this Commonwealth to make a well-judged decision. He knew that.

But he, and most if not every captain in the Quarian Flotilla, even those who tried to ignore the reality of it all, did know one thing; they knew that the Flotilla was a slowly dying entity. There simply was not enough resources to go around, not enough ships to house the people, to replace the ones lost through decay and skirmishes with Raiders. Discontent, minor though it was, was growing. The quarian people were sick of wandering the stars unwanted by the galaxy, of living off the scraps of those who thought them as less than the trash they threw away. The quarian people used to be famous for their mechanical and programming skills. Now, they were called 'suit-rats' and regarded as criminals and scum.

"ORDER," came a booming declaration from the speaker's platform. Shala'Raan, for all her soft-spokenness, had a voice that commanded authority when she used it. The arguing and hissing of bickering captains faded around Kon'Lannis as everyone turned their attention to the Admiral. Raan turned her gaze to face the group of aliens. "Emissary Hullos. The offer of your government is generous, and we are thankful, deeply so, that you would consider us for such an honour. But you must understand, this is a very important decision, with consequences that will affect our people. It also comes at a very difficult time for us."

One of the aliens, the ones with fluffy tails, stepped forward. Though the helmet hid its face, Kon'Lannis could tell that the alien's fur was a rich black colour that seemed to shine under the lights of the Conclave hall. The alien, Hullos apparently, spoke in a sincere respectful tone unlike any Lannis had heard spoken to a member of his race. "Admiral Raan. Captains of the Quarian Flotilla. I apologize to have laid such a heavy choice on your shoulders at this time. The Commonwealth is aware of the heavy responsibility each and every one of you has towards your people, how your decisions and choices could mean the difference between life and extinction. But that is why we come offering help to your people, to ease the burdens you have carried on yourselves for so long. The Commonwealth shares a similar ancestry with the Quarians, in that we two were once homeless, sent away from our worlds and homes in another galaxy in an effort to save our races from vanishing from existence. We too drifted among the stars for centuries, before we found a new home. And we have rebuilt ourselves far beyond what our ancestors could have hoped for us!"

The mentioning of being of similar backgrounds brought murmurs and hushed whispers to life among the captains gathering in the Hall. Kon'Lannis had to bite back dozens of questions that threatened to spill from his mouthpiece, his attention focused on the alien speaker. This Commonwealth was once like the quarians? Trapped in space? He glanced at the foreigner's armour, so sleek, so advanced looking. Could the Quarian people also reach such heights if they were given a chance to recover?

The emissary went on, saying, "Hard decisions had to be made for the survival of our peoples during our years in space. We are not ignorant as to the issues you may be facing at this time. The Commonwealth has heard about your history, how you were once considered to be the greatest machinists, researchers of artificial intelligence and engineers in the galaxy, and about your fall to your current state. The Quarian people are not given the respect they deserve by the other races of the galaxy, being judged and mistreated due to the mistakes of their ancestors. The Commonwealth seeks to restore the quarian race to its position as a galactic power, to regain the respect lost to them, to be once more viewed as equals."

"Yet you would deny us our right to Rannoch," Han'Gerrel stated heatedly. "You would deny us our revenge for our people's slaughter by the Geth! Billions died in the rebellion."

Hullos gave a respectful bow to the admiral before standing straight once more. "And the Commonwealth feels for the loss of so much innocent life Admiral. But you, and others like yourself with such views on the geth, that they are genocidal killing machines bent on destroying the quarian race need to realize that, if the Geth truly wanted your species' extinction, they could have done so easily, without remorse. Yet the Geth did not pursue the quarian exiles. If they had so desired, the Geth could have easily exterminated your species. But they did not. According to your own records, for over three-hundred years, the Geth did not enact any sort of attack on the Flotilla, unless they were fired upon first."

"This is evidence that the Geth are not a race of determined exterminators, bent on destroying all organic life, but are something more. Peace between your two races is possible, but it won't be if you continue on insisting that you must go to war with them. That is the reason behind our insistence that if you were to accept our offer, you would not pursue hostile action against the Geth."

"The geth launched an attack on the Citadel, and on several other worlds before that," the quarian admiral retorted angrily.

"Those attacks were done by a small splinter-faction of the Geth Collective, and do not represent the views of all Geth," Hullos replied.

"And how do you know this," Admiral Daro'Xen asked, sounding intrigued.

"We spoke to one while Commander Shepard and Miss Tali'Zorah were guests of the Commonwealth."

Again whispers buzzed as the Conclave debated this new set of information. Admiral Gerrel looked ready to explode, while Xen looked as though she was pondering a problem and taking it apart bit by bit. Raan and Koris appeared to be talking to one another quietly. Kon'Lannis mulled over the information he had been given to him. Honestly, to him, the whole situation was revolving around the Geth, but not on the offer of the Commonwealth itself. The Commonwealth was also not denying the Quarians their homeworld of Rannoch, or they were, but only through means of conquest, but rather, the Commonwealth wished to reach a diplomatic solution, and clearly believed it possible. Kon'Lannis thought about it. Really, the Flotilla had little to lose in this offer. One the one hand, if they accepted, they would be given aid, supplies and political support, all in exchange for their loyalty and to promise to not go off dying in a possibly futile endeavour in taking back Rannoch, with the possibility of getting back Rannoch without having to fire a shot. On the other, to reject the offer would mean dooming the quarian race either to a slow extinction on board their ships, or by the hands of the geth if they were to launch a war against their former AIs. But he needed to know more about what was expected of the quarian people if they were to accept the Commonwealth's offer.

"What does the Commonwealth get out of this," Lannis asked, his voice carrying out loudly across the hall. He felt a wave of self-consciousness come over him for a moment as the room's murmurings died off, everyone's attention turning towards him, but he soon shook it off as he descended the steps down to the speaker's floor. "You wave under us a golden ticket, promising to help solve us of our woes, but I cannot help but question your motives. We won't sign ourselves over to eternal indentured servitude as some do on Illium," he stated firmly. "No matter how tempting the offer. No one offers something without expecting payment in return."

Emissary Hullos turned to regard Lannis and for a moment, the quarian thought that the diplomat would try and dismiss him, but instead Lannis could see the foreigner smiling behind his visor at him.

"You ask a good question. Indeed, I'd be concerned if you accepted the offer of my people with no suspicions," the alien said in a friendly manner. "May I ask your name, sir?"

"Kon'Lannis vas Hora," the quarian replied respectfully.

"A pleasure." Shifting slightly to address the Conclave, Hullos spoke. "Our motives are thus; To gain an ally in this galaxy, one with the expertise and skills needed to help us adapt to the way things are done. As well, build up goodwill in the galaxy by helping out a fellow spacefaring race in their time of need. Thirdly, any quarian ship that joins the Commonwealth is another ship for defence. Especially once they've been retrofitted and brought up to the Commonwealth's Navy quality standards. And the Quarian Flotilla contains many ships."

"And where would you house our people that join your Commonwealth? Our ships may be cramped, but they are still our homes," Admiral Rayya asked in a concerned voice.

From a pocket of his suit, Hullos withdrew a small device. Holding it the palm of his hand, he activated it, and a holographic image appeared of several planets, each in various environmental states.

"As it stands, the Commonwealth has come across more than two dozen worlds currently suitable for dextro-based life. As none of the current races of the Commonwealth are dextro but are levo based, only small scale mining operations have been conducted, with the majority of the worlds being used as points for scientific study. For the most part, these planets are still regarded as being pristine untouched worlds."

Kon'Lannis and the rest of the quarians in the room went silent, shocked by this information. Dextro worlds were a rarity, and to species like the Turians and Quarians, they were worth their weight in hundreds of billions of credits.

"You're offering us over two dozen planets as an incentive to join the Commonwealth," Zaal'Koris asked, his voice quiet, seeking clarification.

"Well, yes and no," Hullos said, quickly elaborating upon sensing the confusion coming from the admirals' and captains'. "These planets would be held in reserve for your people, or any race that shares your dextro-based structure. The Commonwealth feels that the quarian race, your people, need time to recover and gain your strength back. The efforts required to make an entire planet habitable for your population of around seventeen million, which does not take into account the many thousands of quarians away on your pilgrimages, would take months just for one planet to be selected and the needed infrastructure to be built, not to mention the manpower required for the project would be massive. Which is why…"

A click of his device and the image displayed changed to that of a large space station. From a central core shaped like a hexagon, six broad arms spread outwards. Utilitarian looking superstructure sat on top of the core, while close to half of the upper face of the arms were covered in a transparent material, allowing those looking at it to see what looked like city-scapes sitting inside. Under the core sat four smaller arms, appearing to hold shipping bays and docks.

"This is Merida Seven. A space habitat built in the Merida system, which although being located towards the outer reaches of Commonwealth territory, but is by no means undefended." A press of a button and a second image of another station appeared alongside the Habitat. This one was also built around a hexagonal core, and also like its counterpart, it had four small arms at its bottom acting as ship-bays and docks. But that was where the similarities ended. Attached to the core, surrounding the central section was a large thick ring, upon which sat many large and powerful looking weapons. Attached to the core below the ring were six large rectangular components, of various designs and who purpose Kon'Lannis could only guess at, beyond two which looked like shipyards capable of servicing even the Flotilla's Liveships.

"This is the Merida System's Citadel-Class starbase. It contains the latest in defence technology, perfect for guarding the system against possible raiders or other criminal elements. Together, these two stations will provide a perfect base of operations for the Quarian people to grow in strength with little fear of outside threat. The shipyards can renovate the Flotilla's vessels, with anchorages and crew quarters providing needed housing for military vessels and personnel. There is also a Commonwealth Fleet Academy located on the Starbase, should your officers like to learn how to utilize the new weaponry that would be installed on your vessels during their retro-fit. Meanwhile, the civilian sector of your population would be housed at the Merida Seven Habitat. There are hydroponic farms there that can be easily converted over to dextro food production, hopefully lessening the burden on your liveships. As the Habitat is designed to house close to forty-million people, and at the moment only has a population of eighty-thousand, it has more than enough room for all your people to live in comfortably."

"Suppose that we submit to you and go live on this station as you say. Then what," asked Gerrel heatedly. "We sit and do nothing while we are at the whims of our overlords?"

Hullos merely smiled in return, all calm. "Your people will not be prisoners Admiral. The quarian race will be given a necessary respite from their trials living aboard the ageing Flotilla. They will be able to rest, work, raise their families and adjust to their new lives in peaceful, uncrowded conditions. Quarians will retain their laws for the most part, with the Commonwealth only holding an observatory role in the legal process. Cultural practices will be respected. Lastly, the quarians will be granted legal representation in the Commonwealth Parliament, as fully recognized, equal partners."

Kon'Lannis mouth fell open in a stupor, the sight hidden behind his suit's visor. He couldn't think clearly, his brain wrapped up in a fuzzy static as he tried to process all the information he'd just received. There was a station out there, probably even more like it then just this one shown to them, that could house over forty-million people comfortably? The Citadel itself didn't house that many residents, and it was the largest space station in the galaxy. The Commonwealth was offering this Merida Habitat to them, along with a future deal for colonizing rights to dozens of other dextro worlds, a place to rebuild the flotilla, a place to live without the fear of geth attack, treated as equals and given a say in this foreign nation's government right off the bat, all for the price of not attack the geth?

"You… you're serious," he whispered, his voice coming out hoarse, which sounded worse once it came through his suit's mouthpiece. "About all of this. Your people really want to help us?"

"Yes. Quite," Hullos said, his tail flicking while his voice sounded amused. "Any quarian who wishes to accept our offer is welcome to live on Merida Seven. From Individual quarians, to entire ships, all are welcome in the Commonwealth's borders."

The Admiralty Board and the Conclave looked to one another, talking in hushed tones with one another. Kon'Lannis took a moment to think. His ship was full of scientists, geologists, miners and their families. He needed to speak to the Hora's civilian council about this but his gut feeling was telling him that Emissary Hullos was being sincere about what was on the table.

"This must be brought to each ship's civilian council, and the public should know about the offer," Hullos said, as though he had known what Kon'Lannis and no doubt others were thinking. Gesturing to one of his bulkier companions, the furred alien took from them a small stack of data-pad looking devices, and handed them over to the admirals and, to Lannis' surprise, the captain himself. "Contained on these devices is a compressed and simplified but no less detailed account of the offer by the Commonwealth to any Quarian who may show interest. Use these to share what we offer."

Kon'Lannis wasted no time in scanning the device's contents onto his omni-tool, handing off the device to the nearest of his fellow captains before typing out a message to his crewmembers explaining just what was going on, and to spread the word. Attaching the file to it, Lannis sent it off. Turning to Hullos, the quarian captain said, "I think that what you have brought here today will be something of great interest to everyone on the flotilla, regardless of their response to their offer."

'If that is all, Emissary Hullos," Shala'Raan said, her voice polite but weary, "We'd like to discuss this matter among ourselves for now. Is there a time limit before we must reply?"

The foreigner gave a short bow. "Of course, my apologies Admiral. The Commonwealth would like a reply within a standard galactic month. My escorts will remain nearby awaiting your reply, with your permission of course," he added.

"A month is generous. And as for your vessels remaining close by, I see no problem with this," was Raan's reply.

"Then I bid you all a good day. Thank you for your time, and we hope to hear your reply soon," Hullos said, giving another polite bow before turning and leaving the Conclave Chambers, his companions following him out. The moment the door shut, the room erupted into shouting as every single captain broke out into an argument about what they should do. Some grew so heated in their discussions that fights broke out, while others broke away into small groups, before leaving the room via other exits, hurrying off back to their ships to meet with their ship's councils.

Kon'Lannis made to leave the room, eager to discuss this with his shipmates when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Glancing back, he felt his stomach flip when he saw Admirals Zaal'Koris and Shala'Raan standing behind him, Daro'Xen off to the side. Han'Gerrel was nowhere in sight.

"Captain Lannis," Koris began, being the one who had grabbed the captain's shoulder. "Would you mind joining us in a meeting to discuss these recent developments?" It was worded as a request, but the tone and body language of the Admirals meant it came off as more of an order.

Biting back a sigh, Kon'Lannis gave a nod. So much for getting back to the Hora. "Of course Admirals," he replied, before following the three quarian leaders out of the room.

* * *

**AN: *sighs* Coming up with alien names that don't sound like garbage being put through a recycler is tough. **

**Anyways, I wasn't too happy with this chapter, but I managed to shave and chip away at it till it was in satisfactory range. Personally, I'm just happy to start working on the next section of this story. **

**I really appreciate the reviews of you people. You lot are quite the colourful cast of characters. **

**Firstly, to those who guessed, yeah, its the Sentry Array, the big huge antenna in space that gives your race full coverage over the entire galaxy once completed. During one of the more expansionist years of the Commonwealth, Project 'Star-Eyes' (I'm cringing at the name every time I read it. I suck at naming things *facepalms*) was proposed as a means to discover if the Commonwealth was really alone in their new galaxy. Interestingly, in the Commonwealth timeline, this would have happened about three hundred years ago, right around the time of the Morning War between the Geth and Quarians. Imagine what might have been if the array would have been completed. Anyways, the project never really got beyond a partially constructed sentry spire before a shift in politics meant that it was put on the backburner behind terraforming projects and habitat construction, etc. Now its coming back into play. Funsies. **

**Secondly: Transportation. Commonwealth vessels use the Jumpdrive. In the current version of the game, it gives a big boost to interstellary hyperdrive travel, but its secondary function gives the vessel it's on an instantaneous jump across huge distances once every 200 days with ****-50% sublight speed and weapons damage penalty. When the Commonwealth fleet arrived at the Citadel, they had jumped using the hyperdrive through the Eagle Nebula, to the Serpent Nebula. To those who may argue that the distance would be impossible, I'm just going to say I've encountered some very, very long hyperlane routes throughout my playthroughs, so I'm going off of that. They just call both "Jumping' because it's simpler. I apologize for the confusion. I'm not an expert on interstellar travel stuff. I barely get how Star Wars and StarTrek works. **

**Thirdly: I really like the Quarians in ME, and I think they'd fit in quite nicely with the Commonwealth. Same with the Krogan. I really hope I wrote Wrex in a believable way. I love his character. He always reminded me of that gruff uncle who acts like a jerk who won't hesitate to kick your ass if you're being stupid, but has a heart of gold and will fight to the end for the ones he cares about. I believe that the deal offered to the Quarians is a good, fair and just deal, and would actually sound appealing. I read over a few other fanfics that involved first contact scenarios involving the Quarians. I gave them a habitat to live on because I felt it would make more sense. A pre-built, ready-to-move-in location with facilities easily convertible to dextro crops, with space to grow? Seems worth it. But I dunno. **

**Please, keep sharing with me your reviews. Your ideas and suggestions help fuel my determination to keep going. And give me more things to think about, like Chronos0305's recent comment. I had totally forgotten all about the precursor races and the effect they'd have in the Commonwealth's history. So thank you! And S31tora's comment as well; I had no idea this stuff existed. Really cool! **

**Again, thanks for sticking through all this nonsense till now. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome. Time to end this monster of an Author's note.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: The responses to the previous chapter were awesome. I really enjoy getting feedback from those I'm sharing this writing project with. I am striving to improve my writing and all these different responses do help me out. So thank you all!**

* * *

Valern wasn't the kind of salarian who could be easily intimidated. He couldn't afford to be. Not when he was the head representative of his species in an intergalactic alliance of alien races. He just preferred not to get into physical confrontations. The nearly eight-foot-tall alien standing in his office doorway, wearing some of the heaviest armour he'd ever seen and staring down at the salarian with intensity, however, was more than slightly alarming to the middle-amphibian.

The salarian councillor knew just who this individual was, or at least, who this armoured alien belonged to. He was one of Valkyrah's Royal guardsmen, an organization that Valern had asked Valkyrah about several times now over the past three days. The first was the reason why the avani monarch would bring several heavily armed individuals into a diplomatic meeting. Her reply? 'Protection.' Of course, then Sparatus went off and gruffly told her that C-Sec would be more than happy to oversee any safety concerns, and said in more or fewer terms that her Royal Guards were not welcome.

Valkyrah's reaction was to withdraw the pistol she carried in a holster on her person and then _shoot one of her guards in the head!_ The guard in question didn't even flinch, not even a twitch at being shot at, the shot which in this case appeared to be some form of a high-intensity energy bolt, not even making a mark on the guard's armour. To her stunned audience the avani monarch smiled and stated, "_When one of your security can do what one of my guards can do and not be dead from it, then I will consider letting them protect me."_

No one had tried to dissuade Queen Valkyrah from leaving her guards behind after that, though the monarch started coming to later meetings with fewer guards than before. An olive branch? Maybe. After that, Valern had been able to gather a few facts about the guards. They were an ancient order, going all the way back to Avani antiquity when they lived as nomads on their old homeworld. An honour guard that was considered a prestigious post to gain. They served for at least ten years and once those years had passed, they had the option to resign, or sign on again for another ten years. The position was open to any race that was a citizen of the Commonwealth and had incredible martial skill. They were given top-tier armour and training beyond any special forces. Their numbers were in the high hundreds, protecting all members of the royal family from any threat. And they were serious about their duty. When one overzealous asari reporter pushed her way to Valkyrah demanding an interview, one of her guards picked the journalist up with a single hand like one would do a sack of fruit and deposited her back on the proper side of the C-Sec barrier. And then crushed the reporters recording drone with his other hand, gave her a glare, and walked back to his queen's side. It had sparked a sensation in the media.

Still, none of this explained why one of the avani monarch's loyal guards was standing in his doorway. Or how he had gotten past security. But before he could ponder whether he should call for help while reaching for his concealed pistol, the guard bowed their head and stepped off to the side, revealing the avani herself, Valkyrah, standing by the door, looking regal despite her rather conservative outfit. His fears about being attacked by seven-hundred pounds of heavily armoured soldier allayed, for the time being, he relaxed and gave a friendly smile to the monarch.

"Your grace, this is an unexpected visit," Valern said, and yes it was. Unless they had a meeting booked and he'd forgotten all about it. With that nagging thought in the back of his mind, he continued, saying, "My secretary didn't alert me that you were here."

Valkyrah suddenly had a look on her face that the salarian couldn't ascribe to anything other than sheepishness.

"I'm sorry, but it seems that your employee took poorly when Falyre here appeared in front of his desk. He may be somewhat in shock," she said apologetically.

Ah, that explains that. Poor Lihre. Never did like surprises that one. "I'll see to him right away. As to the nature of your visit…" Valern trailed off, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, well, I came to see if you wouldn't mind accompanying me to luncheon. I admit that I haven't gotten much time to see more of your Citadel during these past few days, and I figured that perhaps we could talk in a more relaxed setting than the council chambers," the avani said.

A lunch meeting? Well, Valern wasn't all too opposed to the idea. "While I'm honoured to be asked, you are aware you could have sent a message ahead of time? You didn't need to bother yourself with coming all the way the offices here," he said in a polite, respectful tone.

"I am aware of the fact, though I didn't think of it till I was just outside. It completely slipped my mind to just simply send a message. Whenever I wished to speak to someone, such as a member of my government or an important official, I tend to have the habit of going to speak to them in person. I find messages to be rather impersonal, and given who I am in my nation, may come off as being demanding. Though I admit it is not always practical to go speak to a person face to face every time I need to talk to someone," she added with a small chuckle.

Ah, a personal, perhaps cultural reasoning behind her actions. Valern nodded. "Well, fortunately, I do not have any pressing engagements at this hour," he replied, "I'd be more than pleased to accompany you to a luncheon."

"That is wonderful to hear," the avani said, smiling brightly. It was always strange to see an avani smile. Very different due to their muzzles. "I'll have to rely on your tastes though, as I have no real idea of where we should go. I dislike going off of reviews and prefer to see and taste for myself," she told the salarian. "I can tell you, some places, despite their fancy appearance, deserved their poor marks for what I found inside."

Valern stood tall as he walked over to where Valkyrah was standing. "Well I can assure you, your Grace, that any place we go to will for a certainty have cuisine that will astound you," he promised, already having a place in mind.

"I'll hold you that," Valkyrah replied, taking a step back to allow the Councillor room to leave his office. Outside, her escort of two guardsmen stood silently in the hall. "I'll let you lead the way."

"As you wish your grace," Valern said, feeling rather pleased by this gesture. Opening his omni-tool, he quickly got some of his own personal security detail to join him, and for someone to check up on his secretary, while also double-checking that he indeed did not have anything important to do for the next couple of hours.

* * *

The place Valern had chosen was quite exquisite. It was undoubtedly for the wealthier and influential citizens of the Citadel, having that air that just oozed the smell of money and power. The seating was very comfortable, and the table they'd been seated at had a lovely view out across the Presidium ring, with an air of quietness around them. No doubt this location had also been chosen for its privacy as well as its food, for as Valkyrah glanced around, she could see no one around them save for her guards for at least a five table radius.

A glass of an alcoholic beverage that came from the asari homeworld in her hand, the avani smiled to herself. Hopefully, by the end of this luncheon, they'd be able to strike a deal that would allow the Commonwealth to move forward with their plans with more ease. The two leaders sat there in silence for a few moments before Valkyrah's magenta eyes flicked up to meet Valern's.

"I've come to the understanding that the salarians are considered to be the technological experts in Citadel space. Is that assumption correct," she asked in a gentle voice.

The salarian seated across from her gave a proud smile. "Why yes. The Salarian Union is considered to be at the forefront of technological developments. At least, until the Commonwealth's discovery, though beyond your ships, armour and weaponry, we have yet to see what differences between our states really exist."

"I believe that the salarian people would have a field day meeting some of the Commonwealth's scientists," the avani said with a small chuckle. "I met a salarian during Commander Shepard's time in the Commonwealth's care. A Dr. Mordin Solus. Brilliant fellow. Excitable and eccentric. He spent most of the time with us questioning our engineering projects and how we make our ships and devices function without your Element Zero, I believe its called."

She could see the salarians eyes light up at the mentioning of Mordin's name. The old salarian really was well known. "You've met Professor Solus? I had heard it mentioned that he had left his clinic on Omega, but as to where he had gone I had no information. Is he well?"

"He seemed quite fine when I saw him. I believe he desired to return home to your homeworld once the Normandy returned to Council space," she said, though she had little doubt that the salarian councillor had put operatives to watch the Doctor the moment the Normandy had arrived to dock. It's what she would have done with a person of interest.

"I see. That is very good to hear. He's one of the finest minds of the Union," Valern stated.

"The scientists he spoke to thought the same about Dr. Solus. So much so that some expressed a desire to meet with more similarly minded salarians." That caught the politician's attention. Valkyrah took a sip of her beverage, enjoying the flavor mildly before putting the glass down, withdrawing from her person a holo-display disc. Clicking a button on the side, the device projected the image of a large space station in orbit around a gas giant. It was a monstrously large station, with four pairs of station arms stretching out from a central core. "This is the Commonwealth's Science Nexus, a state of the art facility utterly devoted to research and development of as of yet unknown technologies, as well as the improvement of existing ones. Thousands of laboratories, testing sites, anything required for the art of science to function is found there."

Valern was paying rapt attention, doubtlessly running through various proposals in his mind that would allow the Union and by extension the Council access to this location. Valkyrah would help save the Councillor the trouble though. She already had a deal in mind.

"I'd like to invite some salarian scientists to the Commonwealth, and in turn, for some of our scientists to travel to your Union. An exchange program of sorts," she explained.

Valern made to reply, but before he could their food arrived. Which was good timing honestly. It would give the salarian time to mull over the idea, try to see how to get the better end of the bargain. The avani monarch calmly ate her food. What cuisine was this again? Salarian, right? It reminded Valkyrah of the Hinu's style of cuisine, but was still different enough to be unique.

After a few moments, Valern spoke again. "While I am not opposed to the idea of your proposal, you surely recognize that we can't just let your people walk into our labs, just as you probably wouldn't allow ours into yours. There are far too many secrets that would risk exposure, don't you think."

"True, there would be some risk involved," admitted the monarch, "But if we don't start making progress in developing trust between the Commonwealth and the Council, then the relationship between our two nations will never progress beyond a strained and suspicious peace. Now I'm not suggesting that we should be absolutely honest and open with one another; by all means, let our intelligence agencies compete against one another, but something has to start changing. That is why, if you agree to this proposal, my government is willing to allow access to the science nexus by Salarian, or Council, scientists and researchers."

"I will have to bring this to the other Councillors… but personally, I do like the sound of this plan. The technological capabilities we have seen of the Commonwealth are impressive. Learning more about your civilization's technologies will no doubt revolutionize some fields, and hopefully the same can be said of you learning of our technologies."

"Certainly you will be able to bring your colleagues over to favour this proposal. It might need some fine-tuning, but at least we'll be able to get it off the ground and into peoples minds."

"This is an encouraging development, your grace," Valern said, before growing thoughtful. "But even so, it did not really warrant a private meeting between us. Was there something else you wanted to discuss."

The avani nodded. "There was. The Commonwealth wants access to Rakhana and Tuchanka, in order for disaster relief missions to be conducted and supplies delivered to their populations. The situation on Rakhana is intolerable, and conditions on the Krogan homeworld are also abysmal."

Valkyrah was well aware of the Council's fear of the Krogan. While she doubted that gaining access to Rakhana would be all too difficult, it was known that it would be a far more difficult challenge to get a legal link to the ruined homeworld that was Tuchanka. Though Valkyrah's role in those negotiations would be minor. She'd be leaving the Citadel come morning, heading off to the next stage of the Commonwealth's plan. The majority of the fleet that had come with her had already left, leaving a small but formidable token force behind for her protection, the rest vanishing back to Commonwealth territory. By the end of tomorrow, the Commonwealth would seize control of the Eagle Nebula and its systems, and flush out the criminals that resided in them.

Bizxo would be taking the lead in diplomacy here on the Citadel, and Valkyrah had absolute confidence in her Chancellor's abilities to finish negotiations in a fair manner. The Foreign Affairs office was still shaking off the cobwebs of inactivity, but soon an official ambassador would be chosen to represent the Commonwealth to the Council, as well as minor ambassadors for the individual member species. Then both of them would be back home and away from this stale-air filled place.

But for now, it had been decided that it would be best to put the idea into the minds of the Councillors. The Commonwealth would be pushing for access to Tuchanka, legal or otherwise. Valkyrah was aware that a stealth team had already been deployed and had landed on the Krogan homeworld, laying the groundwork for future relations between the Commonwealth and the Krogan Clans. There were concerns of course. It was only a matter of time until the Council did discover the Commonwealth team currently on Tuchanka, and that could lead to some awkward conversations that were best left avoided. But the Commonwealth couldn't wait. Time was precious; who would know when the Reapers would arrive. They had to present as much of a united front as possible, and didn't have the time for all the pleasantries that they perhaps should be going through.

Valern wasn't caught as off guard as the avani monarch would have thought he'd be, though the surprise was still very much there in the salarian's expression. The Salarians were the ones who had uplifted the Krogan in the first place. They had developed the Genophage as well. It would be highly likely that the Union would fear any sort of retaliation from the Krogan should they begin to recover.

"The Krogan homeworld is under the supervision of the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission," the Councillor eventually replied in a calm yet wary voice. "There are numerous restrictions of who or what can travel to the planet. It is a dangerous place, overrun with violence from both the local population and wildlife. And the Krogan are not friendly to outsiders. You'd most likely be viewed with suspicion, if not outright hostility."

"If you may recall Councillor, the Commonwealth's citizens and soldiers are well-armed and protected. If we feared wildlife, we wouldn't ever leave our homes," Valkyrah told the amphibian. "And as for the attitude of the Krogan, that is of little concern. We have discerned the more politically stable areas of Tuchanka and will focus our efforts there. It's interesting to see just how the opinions of some change when you bring them needed goods and items to help relieve the stresses of their lives," she said in a somewhat humorous tone.

"The Krogan are a menace to galactic civilization your grace. Any attempt to offer aid is refused by a proud and stubborn people. And they would much rather be selling their fighting skills to the highest bidder then engage in any sort of civilized diplomacy. Any efforts would be better spent elsewhere." Was the Salarian's haughty reply.

"_He really doesn't like the idea of the Krogan getting outside aid.." _the monarch thought to herself, idly picking at the food on her plate. "We're not going to be giving them the ship-based weaponry you clearly fear," she said, trying to placate Valern. "And the Genophage, while a topic for another day, is also not one of the goals the Commonwealth has in mind with regards to the Krogan."

Valern looked very puzzled by this, not expecting to hear that the Genophage was not to be a target. "I beg your pardon," he asked, confused.

Valkyrah dabbed her lips with her napkin, focusing all her attention on the Councillor. "While it would be mere child's play for Commonwealth geneticists to work on and develop anti-genophage agents, doubtlessly completing the work in a manner of months, to do so would be counter-productive to the very species my people are trying to help. Tell me, Councillor Valern," she said, suddenly turning the conversation around on the now startled salarian. "What would curing the Krogan race of the Genophage actually accomplish?"

It didn't take long for a reply. "The Krogan would undoubtedly use such an action to replenish their numbers, using those numbers to unleash their retribution on the rest of the galaxy."

"So, nothing truly good can come from curing the Genophage at this time. At least not with the Krogan being the way they are now," Valkyrah stated, taking a sip of her drink. "The Krogan race is a dying species, not because of the Genophage itself, but because of their own fatalistic and suicidal outlook on life. They are highly individualistic and completely self-interested for the most part in their own future, rather than that of their species as a whole. Some visionaries, like those of the like of Urdnot Wrex, are able to look beyond their own needs to those of their fellow race, and see the true reason for the continued decline of their species."

"And what do you believe that reason is your majesty," asked Valern.

"The inherent belligerence that has infected the majority of layers of Krogan society. So many Krogan are seemingly caught up in reliving the 'glory days' of their species, namely that of the time you call the 'Krogan Rebellions' when they had the galaxy at the throat and were in a position of absolute power. The Krogan at this time actually remind me of a race from our home galaxy I learned about. They were called the Chixtinx, and they were old, much older than the Avani Commonwealth was back when they first started out among the stars. They were a giant, sleeping for a time, until they were awakened by some fools who thought themselves to be the Chixtinx betters. The Chixtinx believed themselves to be the most powerful and mighty race in the galaxy, and so sought to bring back that ancient glory by warring against most of the galaxy."

"What happened to them," asked an intrigued salarian.

"They ultimately all perished due to their hubris. Believing themselves to be so powerful, they left themselves open by sending in every single one of their warships against the 'lesser' races of the galaxy, allowing for a large coalition of star-ships to sneak in behind them in the rear and go after their worlds themselves. Intending to subjugate the stars, the Chixtinx found themselves subjugated by the very people they fought against. Yet that was not the end. A dozen times their worlds revolted in their attempts to re-establish themselves. Twelve times they were beaten again. They refused to cooperate with the way things were, isolating themselves politically, geographically and militarily, so caught up in their own past. Eventually, they became one of the first victims of the Prethoryns when they arrived. It is reasonable to assume that their race is now extinct."

"The Krogan are not the Chixtinx, not yet anyway, but they are well on their way to becoming just like them. The Krogan have such untapped potential, just lying in wait below the surface, underneath all that military talent and love of war that most of their species go for. What the Krogan lack for in order to make this change is rather simple; Hope. They lack the hope necessary to push past their fatalistic views and to instead focus on the future. The energy spent on military pursuits could be spent in much more productive ways, such as the rebuilding of their homeworld and its biological rehabilitation. We must remember, the Krogan are not merely dumb soldiers. The once had the technological capabilities to split the atom after all. The Commonwealth wishes to see them reach such heights once again, in a manner that will not end in a repeat of the disaster that ruined their world. In other words, Krogan who are responsible and who exercise self-discipline and control over their own violent tendencies. Now that isn't to say that it would be an easy task. Centuries of bad blood would have to be rectified in some manner. But essentially, the restoration of the Krogan race into a responsible galactic partner is the Commonwealth's goal."

"We will give the Krogan this hope. This idea of a better future that can actually be realized, building a better future together. Without a hope to look forward to, the Krogan will continue to decline into obscurity, which would be such a waste."

"That sounds like a grand undertaking," Valern commented, looking thoughtful. "You will have many opponents, not just in the Krogan circles but from outside parties who will not look upon this course of action with favour," he warned.

"Would it help sooth some of those 'outside parties' nerves if I were to tell you that the Commonwealth would be willing to trade some terraforming technologies in exchange for clear access to these worlds," Valkyrah asked smoothly.

The salarian's eyes lit up, interest clear on his face. "Perhaps, perhaps… please, do go on."

Valkyrah smiled her queenly smile. Yes, Valern had been the right one to choose to approach this topic with.

* * *

Across the galaxy, in the massive fleet that made up the Quarian Flotilla, lines were being drawn. Lines which went right down through all layers of Quarian society, from groups of vessels to individual ship crews. And such cracks were starting to show towards outsiders. If one looked closely, they'd see that the normally insular and tight-knit quarians were starting to separate into two groups. The larger group, composed of most of the Heavy, Special Projects and parts of the Patrol fleet, were crewed by those who firmly held to the belief that Rannoch was the only hope for salvation for the Quarian race as a whole. The second group was made up of the bulk of the Civilian fleet, and the remaining scatterings of the other fleets, manned by Quarians who felt that enough was enough, that it was time to end the exile through means of the deal offered by the Commonwealth.

Interestingly enough, members of the normally reclusive Nedas Movement were coming forward and speaking out publicly, advocating for the starting over on another world rather than focusing singularly on Rannoch. Adherents to the Nedas Movement had long come to the conclusion that the obsession with the homeworld doomed the quarians into their eternal homelessness, without hope for a future, or even a voice in galactic politics, since nobody listens to people without a planet, and that, while the Commonwealth may not be offering them a planet perse, that what the Quarians were being offered was by far the best deal they could hope for given the Flotilla's current state.

Such events were weighing heavily on the minds of the captains of the Flotilla, who were busy trying to calm their ships' councils and their residents. Tempers were flaring, tensions rising between the two groups, and Kon'Lannis was fearing just what this could mean for the future of the Quarian people. The Commonwealth's offer had polarised the population, and emotions were running hot. The Hora, his own vessel, thankfully managed to escape most of the divisive fervour than seemed to be sweeping the flotilla. The Hora was not a combat ship, and armed though she may be, Kon'Lannis had no intention of putting her and her inhabitants into a war zone. So it was that his council voted in favour of accepting the Commonwealth's offer, with only one voting to stay in the fleet. Said council member had to be restrained and taken away when he began threatening everyone, calling them all traitors to the Quarian race.

That little event left Kon'Lannis feeling less than perky. No doubt similar occurrences were happening all over the flotilla. It made the quarian captain sigh in despondency. It had only taken a few hours after his meeting with the admirals following the Commonwealth Emissary's departure for the true weight of the situation to fully hit him. This schism between the quarians was going to tear the flotilla apart.

Interestingly, Kon'Lannis had learned that Hullos actually wasn't a diplomat, but rather a retired admiral who had volunteered to be the face of the Commonwealth to the Quarians. In the several days since his arrival, the former admiral had several smaller meetings with captains or just simply civilians, marines, whomever wished to speak with him, answering questions about his people, the Deal, the potential new home being offered. Hullos had a kind, yet attention grabbing way of speaking, and Kon'Lannis was certain that Hullos had been a popular admiral during his active years. The avani had even brought up his age, being that of a hundred and twenty, yet was only considered just past retirement. When asked how it was possible, Hullos went into a short explanation of the genetic treatments available in the Commonwealth, bringing out that any quarian who wished to accept the deal would also gain access to these treatments.

"Imagine not having to rely on those suits, but instead having a robust immune system unlike anything you can think of," the avani had said.

A welcome and desirous thought indeed, and another issue straining the bonds of the flotilla. To overcome the quarian race's weakness on their own, or accept an outside hand?

Kon'Lannis was brought out of his musings by the approach of one of his aides, who looked nervous. Keelah, this should be good.

"What is it," the Hora's captain asked.

"Sir. We just received word from Admiral Gerrel," was the aide's reply. "He's ordering all those loyal to Rannoch to rally around the Heavy Fleet."

A cold pit opened up deep in Lannis' stomach and he stared at the crewman for a few moments, stunned. "Is.. Is that all," he asked in a hoarse voice aggravated by his suit's speakers.

"He has given one standard galactic hour for this to happen. A-And Admirals Raan and Koris are stripped of their titles and authority by Admirals Xen and Gerrel. They are to be arrested as traitors to the Flotilla and tried for treason!"

The Hora's assistant-communication officer rushed up to the duo. "Sir!I've just received a communication from Admirals Shala'Raan and Zaal'Koris," he said in hastened brevity, "All Captains loyal to the Quarian people are to rally around the Commonwealth vessels immediately. Gerrel has been declared unfit for duty and he and Admiral Xen are declared traitors!"

Kon'Lannis slumped into his chair, the bridge deadly silent in the wake of such declarations. He hazarded a glance out the bridge's viewport, watching as the engines of the flotilla's ships burned brightly, the vessels taking up positions based on their allegiances. What had happened to have caused such a rift between the admirals to the point where they declared each other traitors?

"Sir.. Captain, what do we do," asked the aide.

Communications started arriving from the Commonwealth Vessels, which had grown to a small dozen ships since Hullos' first arrival, questioning just what was happening. It seemed even they had been caught off guard by this sudden and dire development. They were asking for everyone to stay calm and rational, but no one was listening. Including Lannis. He was lost in his own head trying to come up with a solution to a situation that was spiralling out of control fast.

"We.." He took a breath. "Make for Emissary Hullos' escort," he ordered roughly, putting his head in his hands as his crew hurried back to their posts as the order rang out across the ship.

Lannis was not a very religious quarian, but he prayed hard and fervently, more devout in that moment than he'd been in his entire life. "_Ancestors, please, hear my plea. Don't let this be the beginning of the end of our people. Please let this be the right choice_."

* * *

**To be honest, I'm not very satisfied with this chapter. And I realize it's shorter than the more recent ones, but given that some have complained that my chapters tend to be stretched too far, I think I'm just going to end this here. Starting in future chapters, I think I'm going to switch to an, at most, two perspective changes a chapter. And try to condense and simplify what I'm writing. Helpful and constructive Advice is appreciated greatly**

**To those who may be interested, the Commonwealth's Ethics are (using the Cultural Overhaul 2.3 [Ethics-Civics-Traditions] mod, which is awesome btw) Xenophile, Militarist, Collectivist, Egalitarian and Ecologist. Their Civics are Peacekeepers, Ascended Meritocracy, Social State, Efficient Bureaucracy, Environmental Economy and Free Haven. I always found the limited amount of Civics you could have to be off-putting, so I'm cheating a little bit and tossing in two more to help fill in the Commonwealth's character. All in all, it adds up to the Commonwealth being a form of Enlightened Socialistic Monarchy. **

**Secondly, about Game mechanics in terms of Stellaris… yeah I'm breaking those. With a jackhammer. Seriously, 200 days to recharge a jump drive is absolutely ridiculous! Among other things. Now not all mechanics are going to be broken cause hey, realism (haha) is important..ish. This story really is for fun and entertainment. But lots of things are not going to be exactly like they were in the game. Cause then what would be the point right? **

**To fans of the Quarians, please don't throw me before a tribunal. I know that the Quarians are a really tight-knit group of people and I'm kinda messing with them with the whole 'Civil war' theme comes out of left field, but see I'm trying to change things but at the same time not? Does that make sense? I asked my second in command about it and he just shrugged at me and said "go with it" so by the great digital research mind of Tobor Prime I'm gonna do it! PLUS its fanfiction. I can do whatever the heck I want with it! I apologize for the expositiony bits. Just trying to figure out how I want to cram all this stuff about the Commonwealth down without choking someone to death is hard! Please be patient with me!**

**As always, thank you for reading through all this gobblygook and please leave a like and review if you can. Always searching for ideas and a hand at writing this monster. Although, if you are going to leave a comment/review, please see to it that your spellcheck is working. It makes it much easier to read and understand what you're saying. Secondly, keep it CIVIL in the reviews please. Thank you! Judging by how bad I've been suffering from writers block lately, it may take a while for the next chapter to come around, specially since I don't know what to focus on next. Sorry!**


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